Erica Gessert Sells 9,278 Shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,278 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total value of $114,212.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 307,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,782,124.40. This trade represents a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Wednesday, February 18th, Erica Gessert sold 26,292 shares of Upwork stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $362,829.60.

Upwork Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.27. The stock had a trading volume of 5,362,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,698,783. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.55. Upwork Inc. has a one year low of $11.09 and a one year high of $22.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.07.

Upwork announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 5,280.0% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Upwork by 998.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 2,405.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on UPWK. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Upwork from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Upwork from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $22.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

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.