Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target to $20.00

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $21.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 68.95% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BTIG Research cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.58.

Upwork Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.84. The stock had a trading volume of 577,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,227,694. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 1.60. Upwork has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.58.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. On average, research analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,532,772.20. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $70,721.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $125,380.51. This represents a 36.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 193,365 shares of company stock valued at $3,050,760 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 42.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth $84,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Upwork by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.