Hayden Brown Sells 26,438 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown sold 26,438 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total value of $438,342.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,130,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,748,514.78. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Thursday, May 15th, Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.16, for a total transaction of $1,029,600.00.
• On Monday, May 12th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.09, for a total value of $341,800.00.
• On Wednesday, May 7th, Hayden Brown sold 40,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total value of $636,800.00.
• On Tuesday, March 18th, Hayden Brown sold 9,075 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $118,610.25.
• On Friday, March 7th, Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $852,000.00.
• On Tuesday, February 18th, Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total value of $341,120.30.

Upwork Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ UPWK opened at $16.46 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.25. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.52. Upwork Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.49 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Upwork by 5.7% during the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Upwork by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Upwork by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Upwork by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 263,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,313,000 after buying an additional 2,636 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on UPWK shares. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Upwork in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.67.

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.