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

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Upwork by 3,492.8% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Upwork by 1,235.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at about $130,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Upwork during the 1st quarter valued at about $178,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Upwork Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $16.86 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $14.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 1.43. Upwork Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.75 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 2,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $28,510.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,035 shares in the company, valued at $28,164.40. This represents a 50.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $263,458.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 209,202 shares in the company, valued at $2,895,355.68. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,608 shares of company stock worth $2,187,556 over the last ninety days. 7.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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