Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $17.00 target price on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.09.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.89. 1,405,437 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,552,394. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.82. Upwork has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The firm had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $185.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upwork news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 9,153 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total value of $145,715.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,600.48. This represents a 87.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $91,709.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $164,974.62. This represents a 35.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 213,590 shares of company stock worth $3,523,638. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 45.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Upwork by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Upwork by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 318,659 shares of the company's stock worth $3,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 3.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 66,809 shares of the company's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 18.4% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company's stock.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company's work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development.