Inceptionr LLC Buys Shares of 27,917 Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 27,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $812,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,075,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,592,000 after acquiring an additional 64,438 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,757,000 after acquiring an additional 35,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $996,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.91.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total transaction of $1,318,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,299 shares in the company, valued at $286,536.42. This trade represents a 82.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total value of $336,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,229,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,703,432.80. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 228,187 shares of company stock worth $3,917,213 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK stock opened at $14.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.05. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.61. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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.