Ruffer LLP Takes $2.72 Million Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 146,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,000. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.11% of Upwork at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Upwork by 25.0% in the third quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 105,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Upwork by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 69,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,282,000 after buying an additional 2,357 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 10,417.9% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the third quarter valued at approximately $407,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 246,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,600,000 after acquiring an additional 7,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on UPWK. Zacks Research upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Upwork from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Upwork from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gary Steele sold 12,500 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $218,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 85,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,608.79. The trade was a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,044 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $186,215.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 246,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,079,573.59. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 523,248 shares of company stock worth $10,029,741 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Down 3.7%

NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $20.51 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.01. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $22.84.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.The firm had revenue of $201.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork Company Profile

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.