Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Sells $1,483,500.00 in Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total value of $1,483,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 972,894 shares in the company, valued at $19,243,843.32. The trade was a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Wednesday, November 26th, Hayden Brown sold 275,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.43, for a total transaction of $5,343,250.00.
• On Friday, November 21st, Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.20, for a total value of $1,092,000.00.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, Hayden Brown sold 24,846 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $414,928.20.
• On Friday, September 19th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $400,000.00.
• On Thursday, September 18th, Hayden Brown sold 42,344 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total transaction of $808,346.96.
• On Wednesday, September 17th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $360,000.00.

Upwork Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.76. 2,207,075 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,838,373. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.60. Upwork Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.13 and a 52 week high of $20.54. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 1.57.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.The company had revenue of $201.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upwork announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth $244,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Upwork in the third quarter valued at about $6,968,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Upwork during the third quarter worth about $586,000. Mindset Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Upwork during the third quarter worth about $24,782,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on UPWK. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.92.

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.