Baillie Gifford & Co. Lowers Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,799,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 493,234 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 2.09% of Upwork worth $45,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 45.4% in 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. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 71.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 42.6% in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.91.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK opened at $16.14 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.52. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62 and a beta of 1.57.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. On average, analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total transaction of $336,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,229,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,703,432.80. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,279 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total transaction of $73,213.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 133,093 shares in the company, valued at $2,277,221.23. This trade represents a 3.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,341 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,389 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.