Upwork Inc. $UPWK Shares Bought by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC has increased its stake in Upwork Inc. by 24.3%, now owning approximately $11 million worth of the company.
• Upwork's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.35, outperforming expectations and reflecting a 31.75% net margin.
• The company approved a $100 million stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 843,330 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 164,993 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.64% of Upwork worth $10,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Upwork by 3,492.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 1,235.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the first quarter worth $130,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the first quarter worth $140,000. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork during the first quarter worth $178,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.67.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 25,577 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $353,985.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,118,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,477,147.44. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $263,458.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 209,202 shares in the company, valued at $2,895,355.68. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,184 shares of company stock valued at $1,560,387 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Upwork Stock Up 6.8%

UPWK traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $19.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,705,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,539,956. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.25 and a 200-day moving average of $14.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 3.36. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.93 and a 1-year high of $19.58.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.56 million. Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Upwork 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.