Upwork Inc. $UPWK Shares Purchased by State of Wyoming

State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 546.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,044 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 115,857 shares during the period. Upwork accounts for approximately 0.2% of State of Wyoming’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. State of Wyoming owned approximately 0.10% of Upwork worth $1,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in Upwork by 0.4% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 264,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Upwork by 11.1% during the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 115,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 415.9% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 275,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.43, for a total value of $5,343,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 697,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,560,080.42. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Steele sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total value of $218,875.00. Following the sale, the director owned 85,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,608.79. This represents a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 582,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,080,002. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of UPWK opened at $21.95 on Friday. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.13 and a 12 month high of $22.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 1.02.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $201.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.33 million. Upwork had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Upwork’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UPWK shares. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.92.

About Upwork

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.