Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC reduced its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 39.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,443 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in Upwork were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Upwork by 104.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Upwork by 45.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $14.91 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $17.79.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UPWK. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 20,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $196,406.45. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,570.45. This trade represents a 15.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total value of $57,074.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,074.58. The trade was a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 206,078 shares of company stock worth $2,267,715. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.