Deutsche Bank AG Lowers Holdings in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG has reduced its stake in Upwork Inc. by 14.9%, now holding approximately 0.14% of the company, valued at $2.5 million.
• Numerous other institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Upwork during the first quarter, reflecting growing interest in the company.
• Upwork recently reported earnings of $0.35 per share for the quarter, surpassing expectations and suggesting a modest year-over-year revenue growth of 0.9%.

Deutsche Bank AG trimmed its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 192,714 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,659 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.14% of Upwork worth $2,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 5.7% during the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,867 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Upwork by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 65,775 shares of the company's stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 3,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Upwork by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 75,934 shares of the company's stock worth $1,242,000 after buying an additional 3,692 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 25,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $353,985.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,118,291 shares in the company, valued at $15,477,147.44. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Olivier Marie sold 1,879 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total transaction of $25,366.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,532. This trade represents a 28.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 169,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,337,303. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.67.

Upwork Stock Performance

NASDAQ UPWK traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $14.91. 1,921,461 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,731,580. The business's 50 day moving average is $13.35 and its 200-day moving average is $14.11. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.90 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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.