Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Trading Down 8% – What’s Next?

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) fell 8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $12.54 and last traded at $12.48. 879,301 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 2,556,794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UPWK shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.58.

Upwork Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.80 and a 200 day moving average of $14.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total value of $336,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,229,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,703,432.80. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $91,709.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,974.62. This trade represents a 35.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 288,187 shares of company stock worth $4,769,213. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Upwork by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,498,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,405,000 after buying an additional 5,289,493 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,303,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,078 shares during the period. Dorsey Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,788,000 after purchasing an additional 397,997 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Upwork by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,436,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,840,000 after purchasing an additional 803,929 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its position in Upwork by 12.5% during the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 2,334,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,397,000 after purchasing an additional 260,274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Company Profile

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.