Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target Cut to $15.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target dropped by Royal Bank of Canada from $18.00 to $15.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.67% from the company’s current price.

UPWK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.55.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.64. 1,918,897 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,990,966. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 183.74 and a beta of 1.66. Upwork has a 12 month low of $6.56 and a 12 month high of $16.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 3.01 and a current ratio of 3.01.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced 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 business had revenue of $183.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.43 million. Upwork had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 14.21%. Equities research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 43,714 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.86, for a total value of $562,162.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,165,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,994,502.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 67,531 shares of company stock valued at $851,894. 9.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the first quarter worth $152,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at $355,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 9.7% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 83,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 7,332 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 17.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shaker Investments LLC OH increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 65.0% in the first quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 194,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 76,560 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.