Traders Purchase Large Volume of Upwork Call Options (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 6,799 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 113% compared to the average daily volume of 3,187 call options.

Upwork Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of UPWK traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.44. 682,948 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,658,849. Upwork has a 52 week low of $11.13 and a 52 week high of $20.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 1.57.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.The company had revenue of $201.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. Analysts forecast that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 3rd that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on UPWK shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $208,729.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,478.44. This trade represents a 51.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 42,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.09, for a total transaction of $808,346.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,078,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,584,575.19. This represents a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 116,293 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,615. 7.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Upwork during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,118,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 1st quarter valued at $750,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at $619,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 61.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 262,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,524,000 after purchasing an additional 99,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 843,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,996,000 after buying an additional 164,993 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upwork Company Profile

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.