Fiera Capital Corp Invests $13.71 Million in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp has purchased 1,050,800 shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ: UPWK), valued at approximately $13.7 million, marking a new position for the fund in the first quarter.
• Insider transactions have seen Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sell 60,000 shares, decreasing her position by 14.4%, while insiders collectively sold 545,454 shares worth around $9.17 million over the past 90 days.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Upwork's stock, with ratings ranging from "hold" to "strong-buy," and an average target price of $18.67, reflecting strong confidence in the company's financial performance.

Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,050,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,713,000. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.78% of Upwork at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPWK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Upwork by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,498,688 shares of the company's stock worth $253,405,000 after acquiring an additional 5,289,493 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 1,674.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,748,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649,766 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,303,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,078 shares during the period. Contour Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the fourth quarter worth about $24,633,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Upwork by 200.0% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,237,616 shares of the company's stock worth $29,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491,701 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 11,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total transaction of $156,202.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $126,250.95. This trade represents a 55.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leela Srinivasan sold 3,314 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.36, for a total value of $50,903.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 79,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,220,643.84. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 545,454 shares of company stock worth $9,172,963. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPWK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. BTIG Research lowered Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

Upwork Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ UPWK traded down $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.07. 3,810,500 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,175,409. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 1.38. Upwork Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $14.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.49.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a net margin of 30.46% and a return on equity of 48.38%. The company had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

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.