Brokerages Set Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Price Target at $15.50

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.50.

A number of brokerages have commented on UPWK. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group cut shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $74,727.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 341,609 shares in the company, valued at $2,784,113.35. This represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $191,264.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 797,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,499,584.25. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 33,913 shares of company stock worth $276,391 in the last 90 days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Straightline Group LLC lifted its holdings in Upwork by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 39,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 4.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Upwork by 11.0% in the first quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upwork Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of UPWK opened at $8.87 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $8.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.08. Upwork has a 12-month low of $7.44 and a 12-month high of $22.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.99.

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.