Insider Selling: Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total value of $336,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,229,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,703,432.80. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, December 18th, Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total transaction of $154,028.64.
• 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 stock was 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 shares were sold at an average price of $15.85, for a total value of $158,500.00.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $16.58 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14. 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.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its 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 net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The business had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Upwork in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Upwork by 104.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the second quarter valued at about $54,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.