Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Purchased by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 281.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,116 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 135,795 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Upwork worth $3,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Upwork by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,566 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,744 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 65,113 shares of the company's stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 23,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Upwork by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company's stock worth $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 26,438 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.58, for a total value of $438,342.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,130,791 shares in the company, valued at $18,748,514.78. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $35,485.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,989.20. This represents a 56.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 638,593 shares of company stock worth $10,743,337 over the last ninety days. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UPWK. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of 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, Roth Mkm decreased their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Upwork Price Performance

NASDAQ UPWK opened at $16.55 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.25. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $18.14.

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

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