KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $419,000 Investment in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 25,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 349,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Upwork by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 159,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 46,972 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 58,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after buying an additional 3,491 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth $667,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at $234,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Upwork from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 13,765 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 156,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,532,772.20. This represents a 8.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total value of $70,721.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,380.51. This trade represents a 36.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 193,365 shares of company stock worth $3,050,760. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK opened at $11.87 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.52. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.60. Upwork Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.79. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. On average, research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current 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.