Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Gap Up to $9.31

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $9.31, but opened at $9.80. Upwork shares last traded at $9.82, with a volume of 263,264 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.70.

Upwork Stock Up 10.0 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.18. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26 and a beta of 1.54.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.05 million. Upwork had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 20.75%. Upwork’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In related news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,684 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.22, for a total transaction of $58,090.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,240.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.22, for a total transaction of $46,368.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,496.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.22, for a total value of $58,090.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $95,240.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,462 shares of company stock worth $707,130. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Upwork by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,252,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589,693 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP grew 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 acquiring an additional 822,518 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,486,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Upwork by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,115,000 after purchasing an additional 770,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 71.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,572,000 after acquiring an additional 679,028 shares during 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.