Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) PT Lowered to $15.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target cut by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $18.00 to $15.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.37% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on UPWK. BTIG Research raised shares of Upwork from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.55.

Upwork Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $12.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,468,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,711. The company has a quick ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Upwork has a 52 week low of $6.56 and a 52 week high of $16.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.19 and its 200 day moving average is $13.18. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 1.66.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $183.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.43 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 6.70%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total transaction of $241,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,831,978.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,531 shares of company stock valued at $851,894. Company insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Upwork by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,226,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,414,000 after purchasing an additional 660,966 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 2,216.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,893,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,231,000 after buying an additional 3,725,442 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Upwork by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,252,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,491,000 after buying an additional 1,589,693 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Upwork in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $16,987,000. Finally, Mak Capital One LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the 3rd quarter valued at $15,528,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Company Profile

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.