Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stake Boosted by Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,566 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,744 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Upwork were worth $271,000 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. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Upwork by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 71.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Upwork in the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Quarry LP grew its position in Upwork by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Upwork by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total value of $299,816.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 128,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,950,847.07. This represents a 13.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $154,028.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,238,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,197,230.72. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 184,186 shares of company stock valued at $3,056,877. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK stock opened at $15.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 1.57. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.32.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $193.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.55 million. Upwork had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UPWK. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.09.

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.