T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $60.82 Million Stake in 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. boosted its holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 41.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing 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 quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 3.54% of Upwork worth $60,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 51.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,289,493 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position 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 last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,788,000 after acquiring an additional 397,997 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Upwork by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,379 shares of the company's stock worth $34,326,000 after purchasing an additional 882,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Upwork by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,436,680 shares of the company's stock worth $39,840,000 after purchasing an additional 803,929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $263,458.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 209,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,895,355.68. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Olivier Marie sold 1,879 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total transaction of $25,366.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,532. This trade represents a 28.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 169,442 shares of company stock worth $2,337,303 over the last quarter. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Upwork Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $14.89. 741,043 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,475,381. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $13.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.38. Upwork Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.90 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 44.83% and a net margin of 31.75%.The firm had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Upwork Company 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.