Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,340,000 shares, a decrease of 24.4% from the December 31st total of 12,360,000 shares. Currently, 7.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $154,028.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,238,156 shares in the company, valued at $21,197,230.72. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total transaction of $73,213.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 133,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,277,221.23. This trade represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,527,750 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,369,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 2,216.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,942 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 389,006 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 2,334,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,397,000 after purchasing an additional 260,274 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Upwork by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,535,000 after purchasing an additional 237,601 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upwork Trading Down 5.4 %

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $16.03 on Friday. Upwork has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 1.59.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.55 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.