Invesco Ltd. Boosts Stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 1,674.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,748,320 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,649,766 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.31% of Upwork worth $28,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Upwork by 228.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 211,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 147,059 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 13.9% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 226,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,366,000 after buying an additional 27,639 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter worth approximately $544,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Upwork by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BTIG Research lowered Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.58.

Upwork Stock Up 5.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.68 on Wednesday, reaching $13.52. The company had a trading volume of 289,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,306,546. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.60. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $13.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.72.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. As a group, analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total transaction of $1,318,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,536.42. This represents a 82.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $118,610.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,223,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,994,294.87. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 193,108 shares of company stock valued at $3,046,648 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.60% 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.