Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) CFO Erica Gessert Sells 9,169 Shares

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total value of $74,727.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 341,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,784,113.35. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Upwork Price Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $8.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.94. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.44 and a 12-month high of $22.84.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Upwork by 7,074.5% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 726,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,966,000 after acquiring an additional 716,650 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 35.1% in the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 52,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 13,688 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 35.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 67,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 17,734 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 31.1% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 156,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 37,048 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 11.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 192,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 20,331 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UPWK shares. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Upwork from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.50.

Upwork Company Profile

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.