Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives $15.50 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group lowered Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.49, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,678 shares in the company, valued at $30,770.22. This represents a 72.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 5,280.0% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 998.4% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Upwork by 594.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Upwork by 2,405.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Upwork by 379.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of UPWK traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.25. 511,472 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,850,670. Upwork has a 1 year low of $7.44 and a 1 year high of $22.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.36. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 1.01.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Upwork Company Profile

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.