Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CAO Sells 1,276 Shares of Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CAO Sabrina Mekhalfa sold 1,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $10,399.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,827.40. This trade represents a 22.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Upwork Trading Up 4.7%

UPWK stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.21. 3,519,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,893,765. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 1.01. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.44 and a 1-year high of $22.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp lowered Upwork from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Upwork by 7,074.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 726,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,966,000 after acquiring an additional 716,650 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 52,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 13,688 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 67,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 17,734 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Upwork by 31.1% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 156,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 37,048 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 11.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 192,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 20,331 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.