The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 2,063 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,809 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.05% of Upwork worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UPWK. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at $1,083,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Upwork by 186.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 306,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after buying an additional 199,900 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 239.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,252,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589,693 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 5.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,996,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,115,000 after buying an additional 770,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the first quarter valued at about $1,344,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $47,469.87. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 111,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,965.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,491 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $47,469.87. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 111,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,965.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 31,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $304,032.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,190,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,488,913.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,785 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,489 over the last 90 days. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UPWK shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.27.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $10.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 3.00. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $16.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.98 and its 200 day moving average is $10.85.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $193.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.05 million. Upwork had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 20.75%. Upwork’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current 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.