Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 2,754 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 85% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,491 call options.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $304,032.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,190,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,488,913.65. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $304,032.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,190,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,488,913.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $47,469.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 111,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,965.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,783 shares of company stock worth $1,800,221 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Upwork in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Upwork by 104.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Upwork by 45.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UPWK. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research increased their target price on Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $16.25 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.96. Upwork has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $17.79.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.05 million. Upwork had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Upwork will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

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.