Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 20,540 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lessened its holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,049 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,540 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned 0.10% of Upwork worth $2,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Upwork by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,201 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,851 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.58.

Remove Ads

Upwork Price Performance

Upwork stock traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $12.34. 2,492,734 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,591,100. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.80 and a 200 day moving average of $14.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 1.61.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Upwork news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total transaction of $1,318,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,536.42. This represents a 82.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total transaction of $154,028.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 90 days, insiders sold 288,187 shares of company stock worth $4,769,213. 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.