Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases 843,115 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 70.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,045,115 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 843,115 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.53% of Upwork worth $33,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 68,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 17,482 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Upwork by 228.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 211,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 147,059 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Upwork by 198.6% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 40,242 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the third quarter valued at about $355,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 13.9% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 226,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,366,000 after buying an additional 27,639 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upwork Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ UPWK opened at $12.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.25 and its 200 day moving average is $14.61. Upwork Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month 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.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,316 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $56,410.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,103,551.15. The trade was a 2.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $70,721.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $125,380.51. This trade represents a 36.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 193,365 shares of company stock worth $3,050,760. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UPWK shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm decreased 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. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.58.

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.