Quantbot Technologies LP Trims Holdings in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 55.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,688 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Upwork were worth $703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 5,280.0% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Upwork by 998.4% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Upwork by 2,405.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management bought a new position in Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $13.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.74. Upwork Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.13 and a twelve month high of $22.84.

Upwork announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UPWK. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Upwork from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Upwork from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 123,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $1,699,497.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 776,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,709,724.60. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 15,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total value of $211,417.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660.95. This trade represents a 97.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 235,204 shares of company stock valued at $3,602,486. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Profile

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.