Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,540 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Upwork worth $2,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,369,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 2,216.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after buying an additional 481,942 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its position in Upwork by 12.5% during the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 2,334,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,397,000 after acquiring an additional 260,274 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Upwork by 228.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 211,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,211,000 after acquiring an additional 147,059 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,288,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UPWK shares. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 8,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $154,028.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,238,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,197,230.72. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 16,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,536.42. The trade was a 82.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,187 shares of company stock worth $3,917,213 over the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Upwork Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ UPWK opened at $14.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. Upwork Inc. has a one year low of $8.43 and a one year high of $18.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $15.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.61.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current 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.