Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 30.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,164 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Upwork were worth $122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPWK. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 186,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 6,132 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Upwork by 138.1% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 50,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 29,033 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Upwork by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 2,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Upwork by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 194,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after buying an additional 55,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.37, for a total transaction of $1,302,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,653.55. The trade was a 60.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 10,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.86, for a total transaction of $166,656.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 213,813 shares of company stock worth $3,525,935. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $15.98 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 1.59.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The business 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 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.36.

Upwork Company Profile

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.