Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Gap Down to $14.75

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $14.75, but opened at $14.25. Upwork shares last traded at $13.80, with a volume of 362,044 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UPWK shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Upwork from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Bank of America lowered Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Upwork from $9.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. BTIG Research lowered Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, 888 reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Upwork Trading Up 2.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.47. The company has a quick ratio of 3.06, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.07. Upwork had a negative return on equity of 10.36% and a negative net margin of 4.33%. The firm had revenue of $168.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.71 million. Equities analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 22,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total transaction of $312,127.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,032,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,316,506.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,678 shares of company stock valued at $604,270. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Carson Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at about $677,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Upwork by 575.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,215 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Upwork by 92.5% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Upwork by 30.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Upwork in the first quarter worth approximately $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.46% of the company’s stock.

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 sales and marketing, customer service, data science and analytics, design and creative, web, mobile, and software development.