Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.60 and last traded at $20.5330, with a volume of 806437 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UPWK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Upwork has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.92.

Upwork Trading Down 0.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Upwork declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 275,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.43, for a total transaction of $5,343,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 697,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,560,080.42. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gary Steele sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $218,875.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 85,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,490,608.79. The trade was a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 582,132 shares of company stock worth $11,080,002. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Upwork in the third quarter valued at about $8,947,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Upwork in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Upwork during the third quarter valued at $6,968,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Upwork in the third quarter worth $586,000. Finally, Mindset Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the third quarter valued at $201,000. Institutional investors 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.