Upwork Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 5,430 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 417% compared to the average volume of 1,050 call options.

Upwork Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $12.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Upwork has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $16.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPWK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares in the company, valued at $12,460,444.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $99,823.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,460,444.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $57,074.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,074.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at about $1,083,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Upwork by 186.8% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 306,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after purchasing an additional 199,900 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Upwork by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,115,000 after purchasing an additional 770,088 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new position in Upwork in the first quarter valued at about $1,344,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Upwork in the first quarter valued at about $3,165,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.