Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management cut its Upwork stake by 45.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 232,347 shares and ending with 274,730 shares valued at about $5.45 million.
• Analyst sentiment on Upwork has softened, with several firms downgrading the stock and the current consensus rating sitting at Hold with an average target price of $15.50.
• Upwork also saw notable insider selling and announced a $300 million share buyback program, which typically signals management believes the stock may be undervalued.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,730 shares of the company's stock after selling 232,347 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.21% of Upwork worth $5,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Upwork by 4.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Straightline Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3.1% in the third quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 38,302 shares of the company's stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 594.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 998.4% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UPWK shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Upwork from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Roth Mkm downgraded Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total value of $114,212.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at $3,782,124.40. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,745 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total value of $292,300.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 798,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,832,390.92. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 53,080 shares of company stock valued at $647,675 in the last three months. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $8.82 on Friday. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.44 and a 12-month high of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.14.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Upwork Company Profile

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.

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