Erica Gessert Sells 4,316 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $56,410.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,945 shares in the company, valued at $2,103,551.15. This represents a 2.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Erica Gessert also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 18th, Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75.

Upwork Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $13.45. 1,381,989 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,210,246. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.24. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. On average, analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPWK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Upwork by 45.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Upwork by 42.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Nkcfo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. 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.