Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown Sells 30,672 Shares

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown sold 30,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $464,067.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,196,221 shares in the company, valued at $18,098,823.73. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• 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 value of $158,500.00.
• On Wednesday, September 18th, Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $99,823.08.
• On Monday, September 16th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total value of $200,200.00.

Upwork Trading Up 0.3 %

UPWK stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.97. 1,297,842 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,174,194. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $17.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. Upwork’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UPWK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 104.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Upwork by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other 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.