Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given New $28.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $25.00 to $28.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 63.93% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on UPWK. Wall Street Zen raised Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

Upwork Stock Up 5.5%

UPWK stock opened at $17.08 on Wednesday. Upwork has a twelve month low of $11.13 and a twelve month high of $20.54. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.46.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $201.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.33 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 8,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $167,266.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 218,605 shares in the company, valued at $4,188,471.80. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,014 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total transaction of $199,879.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,886.20. This represents a 96.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,982 shares of company stock valued at $2,144,222. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Upwork by 364.5% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,351,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,836,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199,244 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 785.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,322,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,962,000 after buying an additional 2,060,356 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at $22,079,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 200.0% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,237,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,201,000 after buying an additional 1,491,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Upwork by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,660,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,820,000 after buying an additional 1,357,476 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.