Bailard Inc. Sells 20,212 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Bailard Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,212 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Upwork were worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Upwork by 42.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Nkcfo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Upwork by 18.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $15.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 1.57.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UPWK. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.91.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total transaction of $1,318,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,536.42. The trade was a 82.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $341,120.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,275,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,592,590.45. This trade represents a 1.63 % 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 corporate 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.