Inspire Investing LLC Purchases Shares of 57,456 Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC has invested $750,000 in Upwork Inc., acquiring 57,456 shares in the 1st quarter of the year, as indicated by its latest SEC filing.
• Various institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Upwork, with IFP Advisors increasing by 3,492.8%, holding 3,988 shares now valued at $52,000.
• Upwork's recent earnings report showed a profit of $0.35 per share, exceeding estimates, and the company announced a $100 million stock buyback program, reflecting confidence in its valuation.

Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 57,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 364.5% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,351,406 shares of the company's stock worth $69,836,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199,244 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the first quarter worth about $22,079,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 200.0% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,237,616 shares of the company's stock worth $29,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,701 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 41.1% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,660,511 shares of the company's stock worth $60,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Upwork during the first quarter worth about $13,713,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of UPWK stock traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $19.22. 2,286,122 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,537,832. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $14.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.14. Upwork Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.93 and a 1-year high of $19.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 3.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.43.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Upwork has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $825,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,093,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,046,353.60. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale 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 business'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 $263,458.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 209,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,895,355.68. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,184 shares of company stock worth $1,560,387 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

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.