Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Purchases 507,715 Shares of Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in Upwork Inc. by an astonishing 1,448.0%, owning 542,778 shares worth approximately $7.08 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Upwork recently reported earnings of $0.35 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.26, alongside a revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter.
• Research analyst reports have mixed ratings for Upwork, with a consensus average price target of $18.67, indicating a generally positive outlook despite recent downgrades by some analysts.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 1,448.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 542,778 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 507,715 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.41% of Upwork worth $7,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Upwork by 3,492.8% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Upwork by 1,235.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork in the first quarter worth $130,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Upwork in the first quarter worth $140,000. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork in the first quarter worth $178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Olivier Marie sold 1,879 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total transaction of $25,366.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,632 shares in the company, valued at $62,532. This trade represents a 28.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $825,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,093,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,046,353.60. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,608 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,556 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

Upwork Stock Down 3.5%

Upwork stock traded down $0.59 on Friday, hitting $16.19. 4,406,454 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,997,400. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.90 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $13.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Upwork announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often 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.