Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $33.44 Million Holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 70.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,045,115 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 843,115 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.53% of Upwork worth $33,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 178,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,914,000 after buying an additional 2,387 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 263,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 349,800 shares of the company's stock worth $5,719,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on UPWK. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.58.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of Upwork stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $12.80. 441,017 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,239,599. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 1.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $14.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.63. Upwork Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $18.14. 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 (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $222,304.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,828 shares in the company, valued at $2,532,772.20. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total value of $341,120.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,275,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,592,590.45. The trade was a 1.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 193,365 shares of company stock worth $3,050,760 in the last quarter. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.