Invenomic Capital Management LP Sells 760,023 Shares of Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Invenomic Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Upwork Inc. by 62.1% in Q1, now holding approximately 0.35% of the company valued at about $6 million.
• Upwork reported $0.35 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $0.26, with quarterly revenue up 0.9% year-over-year.
• The company's Board of Directors initiated a $100 million share repurchase program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Invenomic Capital Management LP trimmed its stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 62.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 464,564 shares of the company's stock after selling 760,023 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP owned 0.35% of Upwork worth $6,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 25,577 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 transaction of $353,985.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,118,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,477,147.44. This represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the 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 $263,458.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,608 shares of company stock worth $2,187,556. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Upwork Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ UPWK traded up $0.34 on Thursday, reaching $16.25. The company had a trading volume of 593,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,512,129. The stock's 50 day moving average is $13.91 and its 200-day moving average is $14.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35 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 52 week low of $9.04 and a 52 week high of $18.14.

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.