Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown Sells 23,893 Shares

Key Points

• Upwork CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,893 shares at an average price of $8.45, generating approximately $201,896. The sale was made to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards, reducing his stake by 2.92% to 793,593 shares.
• Upwork shares recently traded at $8.35, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $7.44 to $22.84. The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.41, beating estimates of $0.34, while revenue declined 1.7% year over year to $191.66 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $13.05. Institutional investors own 77.71% of Upwork’s outstanding shares.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,893 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.45, for a total value of $201,895.85. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 793,593 shares in the company, valued at $6,705,860.85. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

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

• On Tuesday, August 18th, Hayden Brown sold 73,241 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total transaction of $617,421.63.

Upwork Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.35. 3,115,523 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,699,119. Upwork Inc. has a one year low of $7.44 and a one year high of $22.84. The business's 50 day moving average is $8.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.01.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Upwork had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 12.94%.The company had revenue of $191.66 million during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Upwork has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.430 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at about $529,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Upwork by 95.3% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 300,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,513,000 after buying an additional 146,666 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter worth $91,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 737,234 shares of the company's stock worth $6,163,000 after purchasing an additional 463,348 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 58.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 107,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 39,592 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UPWK shares. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Upwork from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Upwork from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Upwork from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.05.

Upwork Company Profile

Upwork Inc operates a global online work marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals and agencies. The platform supports a wide range of services, including software development, design and creative work, marketing, writing and translation, consulting, customer support, and administrative services.

Through its marketplace, Upwork enables businesses to find talent, post projects, manage engagements, collaborate remotely, and process payments. The company also offers solutions designed for larger organizations, including tools for sourcing, onboarding, managing, and paying independent professionals at scale.

Upwork was formed through the 2014 merger of Elance and oDesk and adopted the Upwork name in 2015.

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