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Legal & General Group Plc Takes $2.35 Million Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

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Key Points

  • Legal & General Group acquired 280,991 Upwork shares worth approximately $2.35 million, representing about 0.22% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 77.71% of Upwork.
  • Upwork insiders sold 132,520 shares worth roughly $1.11 million over the past three months, including sales by the CEO and CFO to cover tax obligations from vested equity awards.
  • Upwork opened at $8.79, near its 52-week low, despite beating quarterly earnings expectations with $0.41 EPS versus the $0.34 consensus. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating, with a consensus price target of $13.05.
  • Five stocks we like better than Upwork.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 280,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,349,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.22% of Upwork at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Upwork by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,200 shares of the company's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Straightline Group LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 39,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Upwork by 4.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 73,241 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total transaction of $617,421.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 771,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,500,170.68. This trade represents a 8.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 22,844 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total transaction of $192,574.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 364,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,075,171.27. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 132,520 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,000. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Upwork Stock Down 4.4%

UPWK opened at $8.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.01. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $8.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.95. Upwork Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.44 and a 52 week high of $22.84.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $191.66 million during the quarter. Upwork had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Upwork has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.430 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Upwork from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $11.50 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Upwork from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.05.

Read Our Latest Analysis on UPWK

Upwork Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UPWK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

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