Bailard Inc. Grows Stock Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Bailard Inc. boosted its position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,572 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,375 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Upwork worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 761.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 158,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 140,506 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Upwork by 61.6% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 262,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,524,000 after purchasing an additional 99,941 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Upwork by 0.4% in the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 264,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 80.6% in the 2nd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 251,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after purchasing an additional 112,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Upwork by 456.2% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 236,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 194,309 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upwork Stock Performance

Upwork stock opened at $17.05 on Friday. Upwork Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.13 and a fifty-two week high of $20.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $201.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.33 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.Upwork’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UPWK. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Upwork from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up previously from $16.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 8,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $167,266.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 218,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,188,471.80. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 value of $400,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,082,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,160. The trade was a 1.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 161,282 shares of company stock worth $2,826,602 over the last ninety days. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Upwork Company 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.