Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 2,754 call options on the company. This is an increase of 85% compared to the average volume of 1,491 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $196,406.45. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,570.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,460,444.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $196,406.45. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,570.45. This represents 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 valued at $1,800,221 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Upwork by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,115,000 after purchasing an additional 770,088 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 3,320,912 shares of the company's stock worth $35,700,000 after buying an additional 822,518 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,424,000 after buying an additional 389,006 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 71.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,572,000 after buying an additional 679,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Upwork by 132.5% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 964,641 shares of the company's stock worth $11,826,000 after acquiring an additional 549,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Upwork Stock Performance

UPWK traded up $1.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $16.25. 9,726,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,164,720. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Upwork has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $17.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 1.49.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. Upwork had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Upwork will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.00.

Upwork Company Profile

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.