Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Upwork by 5.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,565,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,461,000 after acquiring an additional 702,595 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Upwork by 2,216.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,893,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,231,000 after buying an additional 3,725,442 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the third quarter worth $16,987,000. Mak Capital One LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the third quarter worth $15,528,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth $19,082,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Up 3.4 %

Upwork stock opened at $11.56 on Friday. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.56 and a 1-year high of $16.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 3.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 165.14 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Upwork had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 6.80%. The company had revenue of $183.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.43 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 20,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total transaction of $241,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,980 shares in the company, valued at $13,831,978.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,531 shares of company stock worth $851,894. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities raised their price target on Upwork from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Upwork from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.55.

Upwork Company 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.