Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,392 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,066 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Upwork worth $1,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Upwork during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,258,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 8.0% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 68,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 747.7% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 297,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 262,840 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Upwork by 59.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 131,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 49,036 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the 1st quarter worth $656,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $400,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,160. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,014 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total transaction of $199,879.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 345 shares in the company, valued at $6,886.20. The trade was a 96.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 222,576 shares of company stock valued at $3,670,318 in the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Upwork Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $17.95 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 1.57. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.13 and a 12-month high of $20.54.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of ($387.62) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.33 million. Upwork had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Upwork’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upwork declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

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.