Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $812,000 in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 49,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nkcfo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at $97,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter worth about $191,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 21,122 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $341,120.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,275,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,592,590.45. This trade represents a 1.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,532,772.20. This trade represents a 8.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 193,108 shares of company stock worth $3,046,648. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

Upwork Trading Up 18.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $15.72 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.52. Upwork Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. The firm had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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.