U.S. markets close in 5 hours 43 minutes

  • S&P 500

    3,521.86
    +78.42 (+2.28%)
     

  • Dow 30

    28,431.47
    +583.81 (+2.10%)
     

  • Nasdaq

    11,883.54
    +292.76 (+2.53%)
     

  • Russell 2000

    1,644.98
    +29.90 (+1.85%)
     

  • Crude Oil

    39.01
    -0.14 (-0.36%)
     

  • Gold

    1,940.30
    +44.10 (+2.33%)
     

  • Silver

    25.10
    +1.21 (+5.07%)
     

  • EUR/USD

    1.1826
    +0.0100 (+0.85%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    0.7810
    +0.0130 (+1.69%)
     

  • GBP/USD

    1.3092
    +0.0142 (+1.10%)
     

  • USD/JPY

    103.7190
    -0.7310 (-0.70%)
     

  • BTC-USD

    14,910.99
    +644.14 (+4.51%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    286.77
    +10.75 (+3.89%)
     

  • FTSE 100

    5,919.91
    +36.65 (+0.62%)
     

  • Nikkei 225

    24,105.28
    +410.05 (+1.73%)
     

Upwork Spikes 21% On 3Q Profit Beat; Stock Up 90% YTD

support@smarteranalyst.com (Ben Mahaney)
·2 mins read

Shares of Upwork jumped 20.7% in extended trading on Wednesday after the freelancing platform's 3Q results surpassed Street expectations fueled by its new and existing client base.

Upwork’s (UPWK) earnings of $0.04 per share jumped from $0.01 per share in the year-ago quarter and came ahead of the analysts’ estimates of a loss of $0.06 per share. 3Q revenues grew 24% year-over-year to $96.7 million and beat analysts’ expectations of $90.4 million.

The company's gross services volume increased 23% year-over-year to $654.5 million. Marketplace revenue rose 26% year-over-year, while the marketplace take rate grew to 13.6% in 3Q from 13.3% in the year-ago quarter. The company’s CEO Hayden Brown said in a statement that “Our third-quarter performance was fueled by strength from both existing and new clients, who adopted Upwork in record numbers.”

As for 4Q, the company forecasts revenue in the range of $96 million - $98 million. For 2020, Upwork expects revenues in the range of $363 million - $365 million. (See UPWK stock analysis on TipRanks).

Ahead of 3Q results, BTIG analyst Marvin Fong raised the stock's price target to $19 (about 6% downside potential) from $17 and maintained a Buy rating. The analyst expected "healthy" sequential growth in 3Q job listings, and therefore, indicated "overly conservative" 3Q guidance.

Currently, the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus is based on 4 Buys and 2 Holds. Given the year-to-date share rally of 89.50%, the average price target of $18.50 implies downside potential of about 8.5% to current levels.

Related News:
Tyler’s 2020 Profit Outlook Tops Estimates; Street Sees 8% Downside
Expedia Gains 6% Despite Third Consecutive Loss
Wendy’s Drops 4% In Pre-Market As Quarterly Sales Disappoint

More recent articles from Smarter Analyst:

Latest Stories

  • Analysis: Wall Street cheers U.S. election removing major tax-hike threat

    Biden has proposed raising the capital gains tax rate from 20% to 39.6% for those making over $1 million, which would represent a big blow to the asset management industry. Other tax hikes he has put forward include increasing the statutory corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%. Biden was leading in key Midwestern states in the race for the White House as votes were being counted on Wednesday afternoon, but President Donald Trump's Republican Party was poised to keep control of the Senate even as Democrats retained their majority in the House of the Representatives.

  • How billionaire Jack Ma fell to earth and took Ant's mega IPO with him

    Tell that to Jack Ma. Corporate China's shiniest star was just days away from seeing his Ant Group list on the stock market in a record $37 billion deal, when he chose to launch a blistering public attack on the country's financial watchdogs and banks. The regulatory system was stifling innovation and must be reformed to fuel growth, billionaire Ma told a summit in Shanghai on Oct. 24 attended by the great and the good of China's financial, regulatory and political establishment.

  • Qorvo Price Targets Up After Earnings and Guidance

    Qorvo's earnings report and guidance prompted a number of Wall Street analysts to lift their share-price targets.

  • Dave Ramsey warns: Don't do these 10 things with your money

    The financial expert and radio host says Americans stay poor because of these blunders.

  • Which U.S. President Was Best For Stocks? (It Wasn't Trump)

    U.S. voters are choosing the leader for the next four years. But investors have one big question: How will the choice affect my stocks and the S&P 500?

  • I have a seven-figure nest egg — am I saving too much for retirement?

    I recently had a conversation with a colleague about retirement and was told I’m saving too much! My wife and I are both 57 and have been aggressive savers ever since my brother, an institutional retirement financial expert, told us to max out our savings when we were 25 years old.

  • Jeff Bezos Sells Another $3B Worth Of Amazon Shares

    Amazon Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos has offloaded $3 billion worth of the e-commerce company's shares this week, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.What Happened: Bezos's beneficial ownership filings show that a total of one million common stock shares were sold on Monday and Tuesday. The transactions were part of Amazon's 10b5-1 trading plan -- a strategy that allows company insiders to sell stocks at preset parameters.With the recent sale, Bezos has sold off more than $10 billion worth of Amazon shares this year, but still holds over 10% stake in the tech company.In August, the billionaire entrepreneur and investor sold off billion worth of shares in the price range of $3,102.85 and 3,183.26. Bezos had earlier sold shares worth about $4.1 billion between January and February.Why Does It Matter: Bezos, in 2018, disclosed that he sells about $1 billion worth of Amazon shares annually to fund Blue Origin LLC -- the aerospace equipment manufacturing company he founded in 2000. In 2019, Bezos had sold Amazon common stock worth around $2.8 billion.Benzinga's Take: Bezos isn't selling his shares on the open market, and 10b5-1 sales like these are common for the Amazon CEO to fund other ventures of his interests, including Blue Origin and philanthropic work. This event doesn't necessarily reflect Bezos's views on Amazon's future stock performance.Price Action: AMZN closed 6.32% higher at $3,241.16.Photo courtesy of Seattle City Council via FlickrSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Spotify Rolls Out Standalone Streaming On Apple Watch App: TechCrunch * A Chinese Company's Stock Is Surging — Thanks To Trump(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Morning Bell With Jim Cramer: Buy Healthcare Stocks

    Jim Cramer shares stock market news about buying healthcare stocks, the impact of the lack of Democrat sweep, and stocks to avoid after the election.

  • Alibaba Earnings Beat, But China E-Commerce Giant's Revenue Misses; Stock Falls

    Alibaba earnings topped fiscal Q2 views, but revenue growth was a little light. Alibaba stock fell in a wild week for the China e-commerce giant.

  • Why China Slashed Jack Ma's Ant IPO Hopes, Experts Explain

    Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA)-owned Ant Group's initial public offering may have been scuttled by Beijing due to its "disinclination to allow entrepreneurs out of their lane," Duncan Clark, author of "Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma Built" told the Financial Times.China's Fintech Ambitions: Financial stability, a keynote policy of China's President Xi Jinping, is taking center stage amid the emerging rivalry with the United States. The intent to shore up this stability was likely a key factor in the Chinese Communist Party's decision to halt the IPO, FT reported Wednesday."The Communist party is pushing back," Clark told FT. Ma putting the internet to good use in the commerce sector might have gone with the Chinese government, but "applying this chemistry to the financial sector is on another level it seems."Ant might have started as a payments company alone but has come to challenge the dominance of government-run institutions like ICBC and the China Construction Bank, FT noted.Ma's Bravado Not Well-Received: The group founder Jack Ma's stand against the country's bankers and regulators is also said to be another important factor."The speech by Jack Ma in Shanghai suggests he wanted to openly challenge the regulator which is unacceptable," a senior executive at a Chinese bank told FT. Chen Zhiwu, a professor of finance at Hong Kong University, suggested the regulatory crackdown has to be a result of Ma's comments.The professor also noted that China's Xinhua News agency publicly attacked Ma, post the speech.Don't Be So 'Casual:' The night Ma and other Ant executives were summoned by China's regulators, Xinhua published a cryptic article, first noted on Momentum Works' blog, titled "Don't talk casually, don't do things casually, and people should not be casual."The Chinese language article featured a painting by the Japanese artist Kaii Higashiyama, which shows a horse in the clouds. Ma's Chinese name Ma Yun literally means Horse and Clouds.The line immediately above the painting in the article reads, "Everything has its costs, if you do not have the capital, please do not do whatever you want."The suspension of the IPO has led to an erosion of billion in Ma's own wealth but he is still valued at $56.1 billion.A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that the IPO suspension was a required measure and it was needed to "better maintain the stability of the capital markets and to protect investors' interests," according to FT.Price Action: Alibaba shares traded 4% higher at $307.72 in the pre-market session Thursday.Photo courtesy: World Economic Forum via WikimediaSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Jack Ma Loses B In A Day After Alibaba's Stock Crash * Jack Ma Gets Summoned By Chinese Regulators Ahead Of Ant Group's IPO(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • A divided government could lead to massive stock market gains: strategist

    Gridlock in D.C. could be good for the stock market...really good, historical data shows.

  • IRS Boosts 2021 Income Limits For IRA Deductions

    There's still time to benefit from 2020's IRA contribution limits. And odds are that you haven't put in the maximum allowed yet.

  • Hanes Plummets as Champion Owner Announces a Business Review

    (Bloomberg) -- Hanesbrands Inc. shares plunged as much as 16% after the company reported a review of its business and a slump in sales at a time when everyone’s wearing sweatpants.As consumers stay away from sporting events and college bookstores, the maker of Champion athletic gear saw revenue for the U.S. activewear segment decline 41% during the third quarter, the company said in a statement. Even excluding the C9 brand, which Target Corp. stopped selling in January, activewear sales declined 27% in its home market.While the Champion brand specifically saw improvements from the prior quarter, it wasn’t enough to offset the slump. Hanes is now launching an “in-depth business review” to prepare a long-term growth strategy, the company said.“With respect to the scope of the strategic assessment, we are evaluating our entire global portfolio,” Chief Executive Officer Stephen Bratspies said on the company’s earnings call, his first since joining the apparel maker in August.He said the review will look at everything from historical performance and costs to the supply chain and organizational structure. It will also examine product quality, direct-to-consumer capabilities and how the brand is perceived by the retailers who sell it.“In an environment where the pace of change is accelerating, for us to be successful and reach our full potential, we must become a more agile, consumer-centric, growth-oriented company,” he said on the call, adding that the review -- which already started on the cost-structure side -- will last several years.The review comes at a time when Hanesbrands sales are lagging, even as American consumers are largely leaning into comfortable at-home work attire. The company also owns apparel brands including Maidenform, Playtex and L’eggs. Even though Champion is still appealing to younger consumers, some of its other brands are “aging a little bit,” the CEO said, citing a need to reach a new demographic.The Hanes report is another sign of trouble in the apparel market. Rival Columbia Sportswear Co. missed analysts’ estimates for sales and profit last week.Hanesbrands will be boosting its advertising spend and also considering M&A where it makes sense. Going forward, Champion should see sequential sales growth in the fourth quarter, while its stronger innerwear segment will log another period of year-on-year gains, it said.Shares, which were up 10% this year through Wednesday, erased the year’s gains on Thursday. The stock fell the most intraday since March.(Adds details from conference call, shares trading)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Buffett-Backed BYD Joins Nio, Xpeng In China Electric Car Sales Boom

    BYD joined fellow China electric car stocks Nio, Xpeng Motors and Li Auto in reporting robust October sales.

  • Tesla Gets Order For 150 Semi Trucks From Canadian Company As It Prepares For 'Volume Production'

    Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has received an order for 150 units of its Semi electric truck from a Mississauga, Canada-based trucking conglomerate.What Happened: Pride Group Enterprises announced Wednesday in a statement that it had placed a deposit to secure the initial units and build slots and would further consider purchasing up to 500 trucks."We believe that electrification is the way of the future as we work together across multiple industries to reduce our carbon footprint," Pride Group CEO Sam Johal said."Pride Group Enterprises' vision is to invest in facilities that will support charging, full-service maintenance and a consistent supply of electric trucks on North American highways."The company said it was busy investing in the necessary infrastructure needed for parking, charging and maintenance at its locations to support the arrival of the all-electric class 8 trucks.Why It Matters: Privately-held Pride Group has 12 locations in the United States and Canada. The 300-employee company had a five-year growth rate of 2,365% as of September last year, according to Canadian Business.Pride Group's order is larger than the 130 units ordered by Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) in Canada. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said this summer that it was time to bring the Semi truck to "volume production." The company had unveiled two concept vehicles in November 2017 with production slated to commence in 2021 at the time. Price Action: Tesla shares closed nearly 0.7% lower at $420.98 on Wednesday and gained 0.34% in the after-hours session.Photo courtesy: Tesla See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Tesla Was A Month Away From Bankruptcy Ahead Of Model 3 Rollout, Says Musk * Tesla FSD Beta Is Next Rolling Out In Canada, Norway, Musk Says(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Zynga reports record revenue and strong user growth while still losing $122M

    Zynga's revenue grew to a record $503 million (up 46% year-over-year) in the third quarter, with bookings of $628 million (up 59%), according to its latest earnings report. Gibeau said the team is "fully integrated at this point from an operating standpoint," but the company won't start including Rollic in its user numbers until the next quarter.

  • Barrick’s Record Cash Haul Extends Investor Payout Streak

    (Bloomberg) -- Skyrocketing bullion prices helped Barrick Gold Corp. generate record amounts of cash -- and shareholders are getting rewarded with another dividend hike.The world’s second-largest gold producer spun out $1.3 billion of free cash flow in the third quarter, prompting the company to hike its quarterly payout for a third time in the past year. Barrick reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ estimates on Thursday, as surging bullion prices helped offset the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on its business.Gold surged to record heights above $2,000 an ounce in August, helping lift miners’ fortunes. Barrick raised its dividend almost 13% to 9 cents a share, joining rivals Newmont Corp., AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. in boosting quarterly payouts. Barrick’s dividend has doubled since mid-2019.Barrick still plans to announce a new policy of returning capital to shareholders next year, but it will be sustainable, Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said Thursday in a phone interview. “I’m more conservative than most, I’ve always been like that.”The CEO said he will remain vigilant in keeping his eye on the company’s balance sheet given the state of the global economy and the “enormous” associated risks of the pandemic, including governments’ stimulus response.“We are charting unprecedented waters at the moment, so my natural reaction is: stronger balance sheet than weaker,” Bristow said.Barrick said Thursday it reduced its debt net of cash by 71% to $417 million in the quarter, and the company said it has no significant maturities until 2033. Bristow added in the interview the company will be “positive cash” next year.Barrick rose 5.7% as of 10:01 a.m. in New York after earlier gaining the most intraday since Aug. 17. The shares have climbed 56% this year, closely tracking the gains of a Bloomberg Intelligence index of senior gold miners.Get MoreBarrick reported adjusted earnings of 41 cents a share in the third quarter, beating the 33-cent average estimate of 18 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Revenue jumped 32% to $3.54 billion, the highest since Barrick completed its merger with Randgold Resources Ltd. in January 2019.For additional details on the news, click here.(Adds CEO comments from fourth paragraph, updates shares)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • 5 States With No Sales Tax

    Just as there are several states with no income taxes, there are also multiple states forgoing sales taxes. These states don't impose state-level sales taxes, meaning you won't be assessed an additional fee when purchasing a retail good or service. … Continue reading ->The post 5 States With No Sales Tax appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

  • Qualcomm stock rockets to record as 5G bolsters earnings outlook

    Qualcomm Inc. shares rallied in the extended session Wednesday after the chip maker's quarterly results and outlook blew away Wall Street estimates as 5G products roll out.

  • I’m a 57-year-old nurse with no retirement savings and I want to retire within seven years. What can I do?

    You are not alone in having nothing saved for retirement. You may have to readjust your expectations, for what retirement looks like, how much you’ll have saved for it and potentially when it starts, financial advisers.