Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its Upwork stake by 98.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 518,181 shares and leaving it with 10,130 shares valued at about $201,000.
• Upwork’s board authorized a $300 million stock repurchase program, which would allow the company to buy back up to 18% of its outstanding shares and may signal management thinks the stock is undervalued.
• Analysts have turned more cautious on the stock, with several firms lowering ratings and price targets; Upwork now has a consensus Hold rating and a $16.20 average price target.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 98.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock after selling 518,181 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Upwork were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 5,280.0% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 594.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 998.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Upwork by 2,405.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 379.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK stock opened at $8.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $998.04 million, a P/E ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average is $11.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.75. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.44 and a 1 year high of $22.84.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.49, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,770.22. This trade represents a 72.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,745 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 798,732 shares in the company, valued at $9,832,390.92. This trade represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 235,186 shares of company stock valued at $3,156,199. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on UPWK. Roth Mkm lowered Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Upwork from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $20.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $22.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.20.

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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