Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Stake in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,040,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 118,722 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Upwork were worth $22,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Upwork by 379.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Upwork by 434.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Upwork by 19,361.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $9.53 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.80. Upwork Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.44 and a twelve month high of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.99.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total value of $74,727.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 341,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,784,113.35. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $191,264.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 797,495 shares in the company, valued at $6,499,584.25. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,471 shares of company stock worth $281,446. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UPWK shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Upwork from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

About Upwork

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.