Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Trading Down 5.7% – Here’s What Happened

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) shares were down 5.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $12.56 and last traded at $12.5670. Approximately 1,595,912 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 3,740,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UPWK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $22.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Upwork from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Upwork presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Upwork Stock Down 7.2%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.75. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 1.08.

Upwork declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 123,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $1,699,497.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 776,067 shares in the company, valued at $10,709,724.60. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 15,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total value of $211,417.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660.95. This trade represents a 97.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 235,204 shares of company stock valued at $3,602,486. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 58,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 12,039 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,585,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,071,000 after purchasing an additional 576,512 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Upwork by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 36,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 5,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter worth about $1,133,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Company Profile

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.