Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock Price Down 5.2% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares of Upwork Inc. dropped 5.2% after significant insider selling, with CEO Hayden Brown selling 20,000 shares at an average price of $20.00 and reducing his ownership by 1.81%.
• The company's stock has seen a 37% decline in trading volume, with shares last recorded at $19.04.
• Upwork announced a $100 million share repurchase program, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued, despite recent declines.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) fell 5.2% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $19.06 and last traded at $19.04. 1,633,848 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 2,595,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.07.

Specifically, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,014 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $199,879.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 345 shares in the company, valued at $6,886.20. This trade represents a 96.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,894 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $208,729.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,478.44. This trade represents a 51.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 8,730 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $167,266.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 218,605 shares in the company, valued at $4,188,471.80. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Eight equities research 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, Upwork presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.83.

Upwork Stock Up 2.2%

The business's 50 day moving average price is $14.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.43. 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 (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The business's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 385.2% in the fourth 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. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Upwork by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,867 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Upwork by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 35,092 shares of the company's stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 11,553 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $669,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,013,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company's stock.

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.