Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 98.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,184 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,202,816 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Upwork were worth $363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,498,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,289,493 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Upwork by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,303,035 shares of the company's stock worth $54,005,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,078 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,788,000 after purchasing an additional 397,997 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,436,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,840,000 after acquiring an additional 803,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Upwork by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,283,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,328,000 after buying an additional 310,678 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Roth Mkm cut 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. Scotiabank began coverage on Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,608,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,254,538. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $18.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.29.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. The firm had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 1,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.41, for a total value of $26,584.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,316 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $56,410.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,103,551.15. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 566,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,478,580 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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.