First Pacific Advisors LP Sells 8,900,000 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

First Pacific Advisors LP lessened its stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 98.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,900,000 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP’s holdings in Upwork were worth $1,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Upwork by 45.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Upwork by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Upwork by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Upwork by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total value of $336,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,229,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,703,432.80. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total transaction of $73,213.69. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 133,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,277,221.23. This trade represents a 3.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,187 shares of company stock worth $3,917,213. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Upwork Price Performance

NASDAQ UPWK opened at $14.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.08. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPWK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.91.

Upwork Company 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.