Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Insider Sells $198,790.52 in Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) insider Dave Bottoms sold 9,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $198,790.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 345 shares in the company, valued at $7,127.70. This represents a 96.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Thursday, December 18th, Dave Bottoms sold 11,285 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $232,358.15.
• On Wednesday, November 19th, Dave Bottoms sold 1,748 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.13, for a total value of $31,691.24.
• On Tuesday, November 18th, Dave Bottoms sold 2,002 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.72, for a total value of $33,473.44.
• On Monday, November 17th, Dave Bottoms sold 561 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.45, for a total value of $9,228.45.

Upwork Trading Up 1.0%

UPWK stock opened at $21.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.02. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $22.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.20.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $201.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The company’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 and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,008,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork during the third quarter worth $8,947,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the 3rd quarter valued at $244,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,968,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth $586,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPWK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Upwork from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upwork presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.92.

About Upwork

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.