Strs Ohio Reduces Stock Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,700 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Upwork were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Upwork by 107.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth $135,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth $164,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth $166,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth $189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total value of $241,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,831,978.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,531 shares of company stock worth $851,894. Insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $11.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 3.01 and a current ratio of 3.01. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 167.60 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.17. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.56 and a 52-week high of $16.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $183.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.43 million. Upwork had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 14.21%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.55.

About Upwork

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.