Ancient Art L.P. Raises Stock Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Ancient Art L.P. raised its Upwork stake 13.1% in Q3 to 4,268,667 shares (≈3.27% of Upwork), making the stock ~19.1% of its portfolio and its second-largest holding, worth about $79.27 million.
• Upwork's board approved a $300 million share repurchase plan on Feb. 18 that permits buybacks of up to 18% of outstanding shares, signaling the board may view the stock as undervalued.
• Insiders sold 235,204 shares in the last quarter — including CEO Hayden Brown's sale of 123,152 shares — trimming insider ownership to roughly 7.5%.

Ancient Art L.P. raised its stake in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,268,667 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 494,759 shares during the period. Upwork accounts for approximately 19.1% of Ancient Art L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ancient Art L.P. owned approximately 3.27% of Upwork worth $79,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Upwork by 785.7% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,322,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,962,000 after buying an additional 2,060,356 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Upwork by 22.1% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,534,575 shares of the company's stock worth $87,825,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,169 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 93.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,862,153 shares of the company's stock worth $34,580,000 after acquiring an additional 900,525 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the second quarter worth approximately $11,955,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Upwork in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,866,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 123,152 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $1,699,497.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 776,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,709,724.60. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 26,292 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $362,829.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 298,386 shares in the company, valued at $4,117,726.80. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 235,204 shares of company stock worth $3,602,486 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Upwork Stock Performance

Upwork stock opened at $12.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 1.07. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.13 and a 52-week high of $22.84. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $16.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.66.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on UPWK shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upwork from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.60.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.

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