Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Trading Down 8.3% – Time to Sell?

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) shares were down 8.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $8.93 and last traded at $8.7960. 1,085,678 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 3,770,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings cut Upwork from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Roth Capital downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Upwork Stock Down 5.5%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $8.63 and its 200-day moving average is $12.47. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total value of $191,264.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 797,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,499,584.25. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,784,113.35. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 33,913 shares of company stock worth $276,391 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Upwork by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Straightline Group LLC raised its position in Upwork by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 39,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Upwork by 4.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 594.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Upwork

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.