Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Trims Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 34.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,392 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,135 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Upwork were worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the third quarter valued at about $8,369,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Upwork by 2,216.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,942 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Upwork by 12.5% during the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 2,334,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,397,000 after purchasing an additional 260,274 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Upwork by 228.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 211,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 147,059 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the third quarter valued at about $1,288,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $341,120.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,275,083 shares in the company, valued at $20,592,590.45. This represents a 1.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total value of $1,318,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,536.42. This trade represents a 82.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 193,365 shares of company stock valued at $3,050,760. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $13.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.43 and a 200 day moving average of $14.24. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $18.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. On average, research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on UPWK. UBS Group boosted their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.58.

Upwork 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.