MQS Management LLC Buys Shares of 13,272 Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,000.

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

Upwork Stock Down 0.6 %

UPWK opened at $10.71 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.30 and a 200-day moving average of $11.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.43 and a 1-year high of $16.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $193.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.05 million. Upwork had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.03) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on UPWK. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of 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 reduced their price target on Upwork from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,491 shares of the company’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 $47,469.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 111,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,965.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Dave Bottoms sold 5,818 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.81, for a total transaction of $57,074.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,074.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $47,469.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 111,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,965.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,785 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,489 over the last three months. 7.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.