Cerity Partners LLC Takes Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 123,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Upwork by 104.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the second quarter valued at $54,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on UPWK. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.73.

Upwork Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of UPWK opened at $17.39 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.07 and its 200 day moving average is $11.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60 and a beta of 1.58. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $17.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total value of $790,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $515,564.10. The trade was a 60.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,181,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,080,757. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 214,808 shares of company stock valued at $2,756,163 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.