Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Upwork Inc. by 1.4%, now holding approximately $197.73 million worth of shares.
• Upwork's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.35, surpassing estimates and contributing to a modest revenue increase of 0.9% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors currently own 77.71% of Upwork's stock, indicating strong investment interest from large financial entities.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,151,849 shares of the company's stock after selling 218,570 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.19% of Upwork worth $197,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Upwork by 3,492.8% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Upwork by 1,235.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork in the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at about $180,000. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Upwork in the 1st quarter valued at about $178,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.92. 2,415,385 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,728,423. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.14. 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 52-week low of $8.90 and a 52-week high of $18.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $263,458.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 209,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,895,355.68. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $825,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,093,485 shares in the company, valued at $15,046,353.60. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 169,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,337,303 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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, JMP Securities raised their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

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.