Insider Selling: Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Sells $191,264.20 in Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $191,264.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 797,495 shares in the company, valued at $6,499,584.25. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Upwork Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $7.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.77. Upwork Inc. has a one year low of $7.44 and a one year high of $22.84. The firm has a market cap of $970.87 million, a P/E ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.01.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Upwork by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Straightline Group LLC grew its stake in Upwork by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 39,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 4.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 11.0% in the first quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 594.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $20.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Citizens Jmp downgraded Upwork from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.50.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.