Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Down 7.1% – Time to Sell?

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) traded down 7.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.88 and last traded at $15.68. 145,309 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,831,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPWK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.09.

Upwork Trading Down 5.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 9,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total value of $145,715.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,600.48. This trade represents a 87.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,816 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $299,816.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 128,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,950,847.07. This trade represents a 13.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 213,590 shares of company stock worth $3,523,638 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new position in Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth about $858,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 133.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after buying an additional 66,842 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the second quarter valued at about $1,637,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Upwork by 40.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 251,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 73,104 shares during the last quarter. 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.