Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys Shares of 102,161 Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 102,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,670,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.08% of Upwork at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UPWK. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Upwork by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 2,334,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,397,000 after purchasing an additional 260,274 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Upwork by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,075,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,592,000 after buying an additional 64,438 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork in the third quarter valued at $8,369,000. Circumference Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Circumference Group LLC now owns 540,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,643,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Upwork by 2,216.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,263,000 after acquiring an additional 481,942 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $13.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.61. Upwork Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.43 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPWK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.58.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, Director Elizabeth A. Nelson sold 75,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total value of $1,318,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,536.42. The trade was a 82.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 5,411 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $70,721.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,380.51. This represents a 36.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 193,365 shares of company stock valued at $3,050,760 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.