Insider Selling: Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Sells 42,344 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Upwork CEO Hayden Brown sold 42,344 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $19.09, totaling approximately $808,346, which represents a 3.78% decrease in his ownership.
• The company reported a strong quarterly earnings results, with earnings per share of $0.35, exceeding expectations, and revenue of $194.94 million.
• Upwork has authorized a $100 million stock repurchase program as an indication of confidence in its valuation, allowing it to buy back up to 4.9% of its shares.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) CEO Hayden Brown sold 42,344 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total transaction of $808,346.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,078,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,584,575.19. This represents a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $400,000.00.
• On Wednesday, September 17th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00.
• 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 Stock Performance

Upwork stock traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $19.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,707,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,354,424. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $14.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.25. 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 $20.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.43.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Upwork by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,534,575 shares of the company's stock worth $87,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,169 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Upwork by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,660,511 shares of the company's stock worth $60,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,476 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Upwork by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,861,482 shares of the company's stock worth $38,458,000 after purchasing an additional 231,103 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Upwork by 200.0% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,237,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491,701 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at about $22,079,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on UPWK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Friday, September 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.67.

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.