Hayden Brown Sells 25,577 Shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock

Key Points

• Upwork CEO Hayden Brown sold 25,577 shares of company stock on August 18 for approximately $353,986, reducing his ownership by 2.24% to 1,118,291 shares valued at around $15.48 million.
• Upwork reported $0.35 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.26, with revenues of $194.94 million, up 0.9% from the previous year.
• Institutional investors own 77.71% of Upwork's stock, indicating strong confidence among large financial firms, with notable increases in holdings from several hedge funds.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) CEO Hayden Brown sold 25,577 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $353,985.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,118,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,477,147.44. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• 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 transaction of $825,600.00.
• On Wednesday, June 18th, Hayden Brown sold 23,716 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total transaction of $320,403.16.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.13 on Friday, reaching $14.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,415,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,728,423. 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 52-week low of $8.90 and a 52-week high of $18.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.12. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 1.38.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPWK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Upwork has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 415.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 19,361.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,485 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Upwork by 3,492.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.