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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.37, for a total transaction of $1,302,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,653.55. This trade represents a 60.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Upwork Price Performance

Upwork stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.44. The company had a trading volume of 3,093,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,170,488. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 3.18. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on UPWK. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Citigroup raised their target price on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 89.1% in the second quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 23,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 10,945 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth $54,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth $575,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 7.9% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after buying an additional 9,528 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.