Insider Selling: Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Sells 8,997 Shares of Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total transaction of $154,028.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,238,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,197,230.72. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Hayden Brown also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 16th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total transaction of $336,800.00.
• On Wednesday, November 27th, Hayden Brown sold 15,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $255,000.00.
• On Monday, November 18th, Hayden Brown sold 30,672 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total value of $464,067.36.
• On Friday, November 8th, Hayden Brown sold 10,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.85, for a total value of $158,500.00.

Upwork Stock Performance

Upwork stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,144,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,097. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.18. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $18.14. The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32 and a beta of 1.58.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UPWK shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 32.9% in the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 3,320,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,700,000 after buying an additional 822,518 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,369,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Upwork by 71.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,572,000 after acquiring an additional 679,028 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Upwork by 2,216.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Upwork by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,424,000 after purchasing an additional 389,006 shares during the period. 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.