Cerity Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 48.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,281 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,011 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Upwork were worth $1,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Upwork by 1.4% in 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 in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Upwork by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 263,802 shares of the company's stock worth $4,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 349,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Upwork by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPWK. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $70,721.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $125,380.51. The trade was a 36.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total value of $341,120.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,275,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,592,590.45. The trade was a 1.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 193,108 shares of company stock worth $3,046,648. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of UPWK traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $13.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 206,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,291,518. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.71.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork 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.