Nuveen LLC Takes Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork Inc. during the first quarter, purchasing 1,691,857 shares valued at approximately $22 million, which represents 1.29% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Upwork, with Price T Rowe Associates and LSV Asset Management leading the way with increases of 51.8% and 364.5% respectively.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Upwork, with Wall Street Zen lowering its position from "strong-buy" to "buy," while others like Citigroup maintain an "outperform" rating and JMP Securities raised their price target to $20.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,691,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,079,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.29% of Upwork as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,498,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,405,000 after buying an additional 5,289,493 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 364.5% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,351,406 shares of the company's stock worth $69,836,000 after acquiring an additional 4,199,244 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 worth $54,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,078 shares during the period. Dorsey Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $49,788,000 after acquiring an additional 397,997 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 50.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,379 shares of the company's stock worth $34,326,000 after acquiring an additional 882,059 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 11,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total value of $156,202.62. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $126,250.95. This represents a 55.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leela Srinivasan sold 3,314 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.36, for a total transaction of $50,903.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 79,469 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,643.84. This trade 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 61,083 shares of company stock valued at $842,347. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Upwork Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of UPWK opened at $13.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm's 50-day moving average is $13.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.14. Upwork Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.90 and a twelve month high of $18.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.38.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The company had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share 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.

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