Upwork Inc. $UPWK Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Upwork Inc. by 89.3%, holding only 8,531 shares after selling 71,319 shares in the first quarter.
• Upwork reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.35, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.26, alongside a revenue of $194.94 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 77.71% of Upwork's stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company's performance.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 89.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,531 shares of the company's stock after selling 71,319 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Upwork were worth $112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Upwork by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 115,205 shares of the company's stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 13,044 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Upwork by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045,142 shares of the company's stock worth $49,788,000 after acquiring an additional 397,997 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Upwork by 385.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 232,128 shares of the company's stock worth $3,795,000 after acquiring an additional 184,289 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Upwork by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,194,223 shares of the company's stock worth $19,526,000 after acquiring an additional 60,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Upwork by 174.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 54,365 shares of the company's stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 34,534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup restated 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

Upwork Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $16.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 3.36. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $194.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.56 million. Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. Upwork's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the company's 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 owned 209,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,895,355.68. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $825,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,093,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,046,353.60. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,922 shares of company stock worth $2,238,460 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

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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