Alberta Investment Management Corp Invests $504,000 in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp has acquired a new position in Upwork Inc., purchasing 38,584 shares valued at approximately $504,000 in the first quarter.
• Upwork's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.34, surpassing the analysts' expectations of $0.25, alongside a revenue of $192.71 million, showing a 0.9% year-over-year increase.
• Institutional investors currently hold 77.71% of Upwork's shares, indicating significant stakeholder interest in the company.

Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 38,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UPWK. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 115,205 shares of the company's stock worth $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 13,044 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $806,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Upwork in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,019,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045,142 shares of the company's stock worth $49,788,000 after acquiring an additional 397,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 385.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 232,128 shares of the company's stock worth $3,795,000 after acquiring an additional 184,289 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.16, for a total transaction of $1,029,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,106,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,993,477.36. The trade was a 5.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Layton sold 250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total value of $4,367,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,867,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,629,924.43. This represents a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 505,454 shares of company stock valued at $8,536,163 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of Upwork stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.95. 5,668,260 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,388,600. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.43 and a 52-week high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 3.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 1.38.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.49 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 48.38% and a net margin of 30.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

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.