Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Stock Holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 18.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,719 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Upwork were worth $143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,115,000 after purchasing an additional 770,088 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 32.9% in the second quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 3,320,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,700,000 after buying an additional 822,518 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Upwork by 27.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,806,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,424,000 after buying an additional 389,006 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Upwork by 71.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,635,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,572,000 after buying an additional 679,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its position in Upwork by 132.5% in the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 964,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,826,000 after acquiring an additional 549,733 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Trading Up 4.2 %

Upwork stock opened at $16.02 on Monday. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $17.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 1.49.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The company had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Upwork’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $299,816.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 128,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,950,847.07. This represents a 13.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 30,672 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $464,067.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,196,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,098,823.73. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 205,626 shares of company stock worth $2,558,237. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.00.

Upwork 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.