Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CFO Erica Gessert Sells 9,044 Shares

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,044 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $186,215.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 246,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,079,573.59. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, November 18th, Erica Gessert sold 18,493 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $308,833.10.

Upwork Stock Performance

UPWK stock opened at $21.29 on Tuesday. Upwork Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.13 and a 52 week high of $22.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.13.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its 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 net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $201.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.33 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,118,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Upwork during the first quarter valued at about $750,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 80.6% in the 2nd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 251,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,377,000 after acquiring an additional 112,133 shares during the period. Finally, Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC now owns 463,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,235,000 after acquiring an additional 98,811 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPWK has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.92.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.