Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock Position Lessened by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 226,311 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,403 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.17% of Upwork worth $3,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Upwork by 51.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Upwork by 1,674.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,748,320 shares of the company's stock worth $28,585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649,766 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Upwork by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,303,035 shares of the company's stock worth $54,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534,078 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Upwork in the fourth quarter worth $18,838,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,045,115 shares of the company's stock worth $33,438,000 after buying an additional 843,115 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPWK has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research downgraded Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. 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 Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

Upwork Trading Up 0.9%

UPWK traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,161,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,257,904. 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 cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.22. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. The company had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In related news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $70,721.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $125,380.51. This represents a 36.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Layton sold 250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total value of $4,367,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,867,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,629,924.43. The trade was a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 562,773 shares of company stock valued at $9,433,027 in the last three months. 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.