Insider Selling: Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Insider Sells 17,013 Shares of Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) insider Dave Bottoms sold 17,013 shares of the firm’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 $234,779.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,717.20. This represents a 51.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Dave Bottoms also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 19th, Dave Bottoms sold 15,649 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total transaction of $211,417.99.
• On Friday, December 19th, Dave Bottoms sold 9,622 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $198,790.52.
• On Thursday, December 18th, Dave Bottoms sold 11,285 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $232,358.15.

Upwork Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of Upwork stock traded down $0.41 on Thursday, hitting $13.32. 4,225,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,808,437. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.13 and a 12-month high of $22.84. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.71.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 18% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 58,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 11,829 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 36,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 5,205 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter worth $1,133,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Upwork 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. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

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.