Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 39.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,687 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Upwork were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 45.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in Upwork by 42.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in Upwork by 18.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,744 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPWK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.91.

Upwork Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $15.93 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.20 and a 200-day moving average of $13.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 1.57. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total transaction of $336,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,229,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,703,432.80. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,532,772.20. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,187 shares of company stock valued at $3,917,213 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

About Upwork

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.