Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 89,777 Shares of Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 623.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 104,183 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,777 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Upwork were worth $2,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 5,280.0% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 998.4% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Upwork by 2,405.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,456 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total transaction of $114,212.18. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 307,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,782,124.40. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total value of $292,300.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 798,732 shares in the company, valued at $9,832,390.92. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,080 shares of company stock worth $647,675 over the last ninety days. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Upwork Trading Down 2.4%

Upwork stock opened at $8.59 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.30. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.44 and a 12 month high of $22.84. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.07.

Upwork declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 18% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on UPWK shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

About Upwork

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.