Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Takes Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates initiated a new position in Upwork, buying 1.31 million shares valued at about $14.3 million and ending the quarter with roughly 1.06% ownership.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 77.71% of Upwork’s shares. Several other firms also increased or established positions during the first quarter.
• Analysts turned more cautious on Upwork, with multiple firms cutting ratings and price targets; the consensus view is now “Hold” with an average target of $15.50, while the stock recently traded around $8.83.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,308,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,338,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 1.06% of Upwork as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at $481,000. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Upwork by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 162,856 shares of the company's stock worth $1,785,000 after buying an additional 15,915 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Upwork by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,504 shares of the company's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 5.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 364,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,993,000 after buying an additional 20,366 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 26.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,715,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,720,000 after buying an additional 779,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Upwork Trading Up 1.3%

UPWK opened at $8.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.99. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.44 and a 12 month high of $22.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Upwork from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $22.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group lowered shares of 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Capital cut shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total value of $74,727.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 341,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,784,113.35. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $191,264.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 797,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,499,584.25. The trade was a 2.86% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 33,913 shares of company stock worth $276,391. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Upwork

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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