Upwork Inc. $UPWK Shares Sold by Ancient Art L.P.

Key Points

• Ancient Art L.P. reduced its holdings in Upwork by 23.1%, now owning about 14.6% of the company with a total of 3,782,135 shares worth approximately $49.4 million.
• Upwork CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares recently, equating to a 5.20% decrease in his position, while insiders have collectively sold 169,442 shares over the past 90 days.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Upwork, with a target price averaging $18.67, following a recent earnings report that beat forecasts.

Ancient Art L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,782,135 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,138,872 shares during the quarter. Upwork makes up approximately 14.6% of Ancient Art L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Ancient Art L.P. owned about 2.87% of Upwork worth $49,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Upwork by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 115,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,503,000 after buying an additional 13,044 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Upwork during the 4th quarter worth about $1,019,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC raised its position in Upwork by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,788,000 after purchasing an additional 397,997 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Upwork by 385.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 232,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,795,000 after purchasing an additional 184,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Upwork by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,194,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,526,000 after purchasing an additional 60,779 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Upwork Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.19. 4,406,454 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,997,400. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.90 and a 1 year high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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 business posted $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UPWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upwork from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Friday, May 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.67.

About Upwork

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.