Stifel Financial Corp Acquires 147,059 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 228.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,569 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 147,059 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.16% of Upwork worth $2,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UPWK. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Upwork in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 104.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In related news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 9,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total transaction of $145,715.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,600.48. This represents a 87.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.85, for a total transaction of $158,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,168,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,526,272.50. The trade was a 0.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,726 shares of company stock worth $2,033,486. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $16.24 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.92. Upwork Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78 and a beta of 1.58.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Upwork had a return on equity of 22.84% and a net margin of 11.26%. The company had revenue of $193.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on UPWK. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on Upwork from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.36.

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.