Upwork Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK – Get Rating) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 4,308 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 528% compared to the average daily volume of 686 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 30,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.71, for a total value of $328,550.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 903,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,680,308.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Eric Gilpin sold 7,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.06, for a total value of $86,578.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,210.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 30,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.71, for a total value of $328,550.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 903,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,680,308.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,033 shares of company stock worth $741,714 in the last quarter. 8.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Upwork by 7.2% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 173,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,037,000 after purchasing an additional 11,594 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Upwork by 3.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 182,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,243,000 after purchasing an additional 5,978 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Upwork in the first quarter worth $4,050,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork in the first quarter worth $120,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Upwork by 56.1% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 64,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 23,158 shares during the period. 74.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Upwork from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Upwork from $36.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Friday, October 28th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.82.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.44. 441,541 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207,976. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 3.69. Upwork has a 1 year low of $9.79 and a 1 year high of $29.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.92.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $158.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.36 million. Upwork had a negative return on equity of 38.46% and a negative net margin of 16.16%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Upwork will post -0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork Company Profile

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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 sales and marketing, customer service, data science and analytics, design and creative, web, mobile, and software development.