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 Upwork stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $154,028.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,238,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,197,230.72. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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 transaction of $255,000.00.
• On Monday, November 18th, Hayden Brown sold 30,672 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $464,067.36.
• On Friday, November 8th, Hayden Brown sold 10,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.85, for a total transaction of $158,500.00.

Upwork Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $16.58 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.53 and its 200-day moving average is $11.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32 and a beta of 1.58. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UPWK. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Upwork by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Upwork by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 318,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,426,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 66,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 2,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities increased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.36.

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.