Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Insider Sells $234,779.40 in Stock

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) insider Dave Bottoms sold 17,013 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $234,779.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $220,717.20. The trade was a 51.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Dave Bottoms also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 19th, Dave Bottoms sold 15,649 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total transaction of $211,417.99.
• On Friday, December 19th, Dave Bottoms sold 9,622 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $198,790.52.
• On Thursday, December 18th, Dave Bottoms sold 11,285 shares of Upwork stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $232,358.15.

Upwork Price Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $13.17 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.76. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.06. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.13 and a 1 year high of $22.84.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 18% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Upwork News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorizes a flexible $300 million buyback (authorizes repurchases of roughly 18% of shares), a meaningful capital‑return action that can reduce float and support EPS and investor sentiment. Globe and Mail: Buyback Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction was initially positive — coverage notes shares rose on the buyback news, showing short‑term demand lift from the announcement. Investing.com: Market Reaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / institutional context is mixed: consensus is a modest “moderate buy” with an average target (~$22.60) well above the current price, and institutions own ~78% of the stock — the buyback may prompt revisions but not unanimous upgrades. MarketBeat: Analyst & Ownership Context
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Hayden Brown sold 123,152 shares (~$1.7M at ~$13.80); CFO Erica Gessert and other insiders (Dave Bottoms) also reduced positions — large insider disposals can be interpreted negatively by investors. SEC filings for the CEO sale are here and the InsiderTrades writeup for other insider sales is here. CEO SEC Filing InsiderTrades: Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals/liquidity are unfavorable near term: shares remain well below the 50‑day moving average and today’s volume is light versus average, increasing downside volatility risk despite the buyback. MarketBeat: Technicals

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,231,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,166,000 after buying an additional 5,893,970 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Upwork by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,989,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,086,000 after acquiring an additional 322,455 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Upwork by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,537,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,569,000 after acquiring an additional 23,900 shares during the last quarter. Ancient Art L.P. increased its stake in Upwork by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancient Art L.P. now owns 4,640,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,981,000 after purchasing an additional 372,147 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Upwork by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,585,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,071,000 after purchasing an additional 576,512 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $22.00 target price on Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upwork presently has an average 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.