HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 65,811 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,036 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,811 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Upwork were worth $115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Upwork during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Circumference Group LLC grew its position in shares of Upwork by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Circumference Group LLC now owns 540,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,643,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,369,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 72.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 205,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,144,000 after acquiring an additional 86,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 40.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 251,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 73,104 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 9,153 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total transaction of $145,715.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,600.48. This trade represents a 87.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,360 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.11, for a total value of $91,709.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,974.62. The trade was a 35.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 213,813 shares of company stock worth $3,525,935 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Upwork Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $17.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.16. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $18.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98 and a beta of 1.58.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. Upwork’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.