Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on UPWK. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Upwork from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Upwork from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.60.

Upwork Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $12.51 on Friday. Upwork has a 52 week low of $11.13 and a 52 week high of $22.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.85 and its 200 day moving average is $17.79. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.06.

Upwork announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 18% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 15,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total value of $211,417.99. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660.95. This represents a 97.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 26,292 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $362,829.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 298,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,117,726.80. The trade was a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 510,204 shares of company stock valued at $8,945,736 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,231,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,970 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Upwork by 785.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,322,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,356 shares during the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,136,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Upwork during the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,782,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Upwork by 22.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,534,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,825,000 after buying an additional 1,183,169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

About Upwork

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.