Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $11.01 and last traded at $11.04, with a volume of 202641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research lowered Upwork from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank cut their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Upwork Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.38.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 18% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,745 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total value of $292,300.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 798,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,832,390.92. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.49, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,770.22. The trade was a 72.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 235,186 shares of company stock worth $3,156,199. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,231,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,166,000 after buying an additional 5,893,970 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in Upwork by 785.7% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,322,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060,356 shares during the period. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Upwork in the fourth quarter worth about $40,136,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in Upwork in the third quarter worth about $24,782,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Upwork by 93.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,862,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,580,000 after acquiring an additional 900,525 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.