Rhumbline Advisers Increases Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,660 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,458 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.13% of Upwork worth $2,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UPWK. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Upwork by 1,235.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at $191,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPWK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Friday, May 16th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.67.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other Upwork news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 2,130 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total value of $35,485.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,989.20. The trade was a 56.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Layton sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total value of $4,367,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,867,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,629,924.43. The trade was a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 496,440 shares of company stock valued at $8,511,502. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Down 0.7%

UPWK stock opened at $13.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 3.39. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 1.44.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.49 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. Upwork’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

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.