Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown Sells 20,000 Shares

Key Points

• Upwork CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock for $360,000 on September 17th, reducing his shareholding by 1.79% to 1,098,291 shares.
• The company recently reported a beat in quarterly earnings with $0.35 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.26, and declared a $100 million share repurchase plan.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Upwork, with an average target price of $18.67 and recent changes including a downgrade from "strong-buy" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,098,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,769,238. The trade was a 1.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Friday, September 19th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $400,000.00.
• On Thursday, September 18th, Hayden Brown sold 42,344 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total value of $808,346.96.
• On Monday, August 18th, Hayden Brown sold 25,577 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $353,985.68.
• On Friday, August 15th, Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $825,600.00.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.07. 9,877,106 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,981,318. 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 12-month low of $9.93 and a 12-month high of $20.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.21. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Upwork declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Upwork currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Upwork by 385.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 232,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,795,000 after purchasing an additional 184,289 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $377,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Upwork by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Upwork by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 35,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 11,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $669,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.