HighTower Advisors LLC Invests $405,000 in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Upwork Inc. during the first quarter, purchasing 31,012 shares valued at approximately $405,000.
• Upwork reported earnings of $0.35 per share in its latest quarterly results, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.26 per share, with revenue of $194.94 million.
• Several analysts have issued positive ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67 for Upwork shares.

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 31,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $812,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,951,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,911,000 after purchasing an additional 161,661 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter valued at $180,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,194,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,526,000 after purchasing an additional 60,779 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upwork Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ:UPWK traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $16.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,543,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,505,642. Upwork Inc. has a one year low of $8.90 and a one year high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $13.58 and its 200-day moving average is $14.09.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The company had revenue of $194.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on UPWK shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities lifted 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. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $263,458.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 209,202 shares in the company, valued at $2,895,355.68. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leela Srinivasan sold 3,314 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.36, for a total transaction of $50,903.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 79,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,643.84. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,337,303. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.