Hayden Brown Sells 24,846 Shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CEO Hayden Brown sold 24,846 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $414,928.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,107,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,501,829.80. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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 Thursday, September 18th, Hayden Brown sold 42,344 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total value of $808,346.96.
• On Wednesday, September 17th, Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00.

Upwork Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $17.87 on Friday. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.13 and a 12 month high of $20.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 1.57.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.The company had revenue of $201.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 5,280.0% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Upwork by 998.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 2,405.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Upwork during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Upwork by 415.9% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.92.

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.