Insider Selling: Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Sells $154,028.64 in Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,197,230.72. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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 value 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 Up 1.2 %

UPWK stock opened at $16.44 on Friday. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $18.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.77 and its 200 day moving average is $11.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the second quarter valued at about $2,111,000. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its position in Upwork by 89.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 23,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 10,945 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $575,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Upwork presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.36.

Upwork Company Profile

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.