LPL Financial LLC Takes Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 71,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,175,000. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Upwork at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Upwork by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Upwork by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Upwork by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 263,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Upwork by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 349,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Upwork by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total value of $341,120.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,275,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,592,590.45. The trade was a 1.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $70,721.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $125,380.51. This trade represents a 36.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 193,108 shares of company stock valued at $3,046,648 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.58.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.32. The company had a trading volume of 167,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,234,737. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $13.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 1.60. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.43 and a 1 year high of $18.14. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.