Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 133,078 Shares of Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,097,681 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133,078 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Upwork were worth $12,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Upwork by 594.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 379.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 434.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 19,361.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $8.83 on Friday. Upwork Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.44 and a twelve month high of $22.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Insider Activity

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $191,264.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 797,495 shares in the company, valued at $6,499,584.25. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $74,727.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 341,609 shares in the company, valued at $2,784,113.35. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 33,913 shares of company stock valued at $276,391 over the last 90 days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPWK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group cut shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Upwork from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.50.

Upwork Company 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.