Upwork slips as BTIG downgrades on valuation

Fiverr International

28/08/2023 14:17

** Upwork Inc's  UPWK.O  shares down 2.3% at $14.41
premarket as BTIG cuts online freelance work firm to "neutral"
from "buy", citing valuation
    ** BTIG points to stock's 41% YTD gain, moving it within 2%
of its former $15 PT
    ** Risk-reward in balance as positive catalysts have played
out with UPWK making take rate-accretive changes to the
commission structure earlier this year as well slashing its FY23
brand marketing spend, BTIG says in note
    ** UPWK has opened up a significant premium to closest comp
Fiverr Intl Ltd  FVRR.O  at 35x/24x/17x FY23/24/25 EBITDA
estimates vs 15x/12x/8x for FVRR, and trades at premium to
overall e-commerce sector, BTIG says
    ** Brokerage also cautions of likely further slackening in
labor market, and says implications of artificial intelligence
(AI) remain "highly uncertain"
    ** On Aug 3, UPWK's stock surged 44% after co posted Q2
beat-and-raise, and when addressing competition from AI, CEO
said on earnings call co witnessed "virtually no negative impact
in the vast majority of categories"
    ** Avg rating on UPWK among 10 analysts is "buy"; median PT
of $15 up from $12.50 a month ago, according to Refinitiv data

 (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
 ((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))