Graham Capital Management L.P. Has $1.61 Million Stock Holdings in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. significantly increased its stake in Upwork Inc. by 159.9%, now owning 123,336 shares valued at $1.61 million.
• Upwork reported a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83% for the most recent quarter, exceeding earnings expectations.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” for Upwork, with a target price averaging $18.67, indicating optimism about the company's growth prospects.

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 159.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,336 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,876 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.09% of Upwork worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UPWK. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Upwork by 5.7% during the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Upwork by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 67,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,148 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Upwork by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,867 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of UPWK traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.19. The company had a trading volume of 4,406,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,997,400. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $13.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.11. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.90 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Upwork announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 2,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $28,510.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,164.40. This trade represents a 50.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 25,577 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $353,985.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,118,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,477,147.44. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,608 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,556. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Upwork Company 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.