Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown Sells 42,344 Shares

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 the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total value of $808,346.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,078,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,584,575.19. The trade was a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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 Wednesday, September 17th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $360,000.00.
• On Monday, August 18th, Hayden Brown sold 25,577 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $353,985.68.
• On Friday, August 15th, Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $825,600.00.

Upwork Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of UPWK traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $20.07. The company had a trading volume of 9,877,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,981,318. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Upwork Inc. has a one year low of $9.93 and a one year high of $20.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $14.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.21.

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

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 415.9% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the second quarter worth about $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 19,361.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 3,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 3,492.8% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPWK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.67.

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.

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