T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 1,357,476 Shares of Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Upwork Inc. by 41.1%, acquiring an additional 1,357,476 shares and owning approximately 3.54% of the company, valued at $60.82 million.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with Director Leela Srinivasan and insider Dave Bottoms selling shares worth $98,843.20 and $156,202.62, respectively, which reflects significant decreases in their holdings.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook for Upwork, with ratings including a "buy" from Needham & Company LLC and an average price target of $18.67 across multiple institutions.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 41.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,660,511 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,357,476 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 3.54% of Upwork worth $60,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3,492.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 1,235.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the first quarter worth $140,000. Alhambra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the first quarter worth $178,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth $180,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leela Srinivasan sold 6,520 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.16, for a total value of $98,843.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 82,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,254,990.28. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 11,562 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total transaction of $156,202.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,250.95. This trade represents a 55.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,442 shares of company stock worth $2,337,303. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Upwork Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $14.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.90 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $13.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 1.38.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork Profile

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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