Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Trading Down 3.1% - Should You Sell?

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) traded down 3.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $15.10 and last traded at $15.20. 2,556,739 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 2,288,435 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPWK has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Upwork Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $14.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.44.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. The business had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Upwork news, Director Thomas Layton sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total transaction of $4,367,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,867,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,629,924.43. This represents a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Olivier Marie sold 3,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total transaction of $53,219.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,179.16. This trade represents a 70.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 566,868 shares of company stock worth $9,478,580 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UPWK. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Upwork by 3,492.8% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Upwork by 1,235.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Upwork by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the period. 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.