Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 29,880 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,838,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,880 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 1.38% of Upwork worth $19,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,178,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,460,444.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total value of $99,823.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,178,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,460,444.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total transaction of $790,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $515,564.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 176,785 shares of company stock worth $1,800,489. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $10.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.30 and a 200 day moving average of $11.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60 and a beta of 1.54. Upwork Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $16.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. Upwork had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on UPWK. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Upwork from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Upwork from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.70.

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.