Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Posted by on May 5th, 2023

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK – Get Rating)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $11.00. The stock had previously closed at $8.14, but opened at $6.58. Upwork shares last traded at $8.02, with a volume of 2,220,138 shares changing hands.

UPWK has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities dropped their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $14.00 in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.47, for a total value of $240,112.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 936,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,742,262.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,934 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.47, for a total value of $240,112.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 936,553 shares in the company, valued at $10,742,262.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Gilpin sold 11,331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.47, for a total value of $129,966.57. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,188 shares in the company, valued at $587,126.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,952 shares of company stock worth $703,735. 8.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Upwork by 100.6% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,734 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Upwork by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 977.0% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 5,129 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.05% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.50 and its 200-day moving average is $11.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.58 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.76, a current ratio of 3.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $161.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.31 million. Upwork had a negative net margin of 14.54% and a negative return on equity of 36.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork Company Profile

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Upwork, Inc operates an online marketplace that enables businesses to find, hire, and pay freelancers for short-term and longer-term projects. Its marketplace offerings include Upwork Basic, Upwork Plus, Upwork Business, Upwork Enterprise, and Upwork Payroll. The company was founded by Odysseas Tsatalos and Efstratios Karamanlakis in December 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

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