Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.05, but opened at $11.70. Upwork shares last traded at $12.56, with a volume of 2,984,575 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.27.

Upwork Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 3.00.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.05 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 10.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares in the company, valued at $12,460,444.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares in the company, valued at $12,460,444.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $196,406.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,570.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP lifted its position in Upwork by 32.9% during the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 3,320,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,700,000 after purchasing an additional 822,518 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Upwork by 5.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,115,000 after purchasing an additional 770,088 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Upwork by 71.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,572,000 after purchasing an additional 679,028 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its position in Upwork by 132.5% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 964,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,826,000 after purchasing an additional 549,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Upwork by 27.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,424,000 after purchasing an additional 389,006 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.