Insider Selling: Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Insider Sells 10,014 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Dave Bottoms, an insider at Upwork, sold 10,014 shares of the company's stock for a total value of approximately $199,879, lowering his ownership to just 345 shares, indicating a 96.67% decrease in his position.
• Upwork announced a $100 million stock buyback on September 3rd, reflecting management's belief that its stock may be undervalued after a recent strong quarterly earnings report.
• Following the recent trading activity, Upwork's stock price decreased by $0.74 to $19.33, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $18.67.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,014 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $199,879.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,886.20. The trade was a 96.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Dave Bottoms also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 18th, Dave Bottoms sold 10,894 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $208,729.04.
• On Monday, August 18th, Dave Bottoms sold 2,060 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $28,510.40.

Upwork Stock Up 1.6%

Upwork stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,892,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,608,983. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36. Upwork Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.93 and a fifty-two week high of $20.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $14.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 1.43.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 44.83% and a net margin of 31.75%.The firm had revenue of $194.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 22.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,534,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,825,000 after buying an additional 1,183,169 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 41.1% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,660,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,820,000 after buying an additional 1,357,476 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 8.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,861,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,458,000 after buying an additional 231,103 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,237,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,701 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at $22,079,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UPWK shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Upwork from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.83.

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.