Upwork Inc. $UPWK Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 108.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,270 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,167 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.09% of Upwork worth $1,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Upwork by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Upwork by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Upwork by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,867 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Upwork by 1,235.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Upwork by 3,492.8% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities upped their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.67.

Upwork Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.19. The stock had a trading volume of 4,406,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,528,901. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.71 and its 200-day moving average is $14.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.43. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.90 and a 1 year high of $18.14.

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

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In related news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 1,879 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total value of $25,366.50. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $263,458.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 209,202 shares in the company, valued at $2,895,355.68. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,608 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,556. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

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.