Insider Selling: Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Director Sells 75,000 Shares of Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.37, for a total value of $1,302,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,653.55. This represents a 60.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Upwork Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of UPWK stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.44. The company had a trading volume of 3,093,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,170,488. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.77 and its 200 day moving average is $11.95. Upwork Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released 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 company had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UPWK. BTIG Research upped their target price on Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. JMP Securities lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Upwork by 186.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 306,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,299,000 after purchasing an additional 199,900 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $858,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Upwork by 133.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after buying an additional 66,842 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,637,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Upwork by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 251,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 73,104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.