Upwork Inc. $UPWK is Circumference Group LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Circumference Group LLC reduced its stake in Upwork Inc. by 12.0%, now owning 475,000 shares, which represent 7.6% of its portfolio, after selling 65,000 shares during the first quarter.
• Insider Dave Bottoms and CEO Hayden Brown both sold shares of Upwork stock, with Brown's sale decreasing his holdings by 2.24%.
• Upwork's stock has shown a 3.1% increase recently, following a better-than-expected earnings report, with a current stock price opening at $16.45.

Circumference Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 475,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,000 shares during the period. Upwork comprises approximately 7.6% of Circumference Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Circumference Group LLC owned about 0.36% of Upwork worth $6,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 13,044 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Upwork by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045,142 shares of the company's stock worth $49,788,000 after buying an additional 397,997 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Upwork by 385.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 232,128 shares of the company's stock worth $3,795,000 after buying an additional 184,289 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Upwork by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,194,223 shares of the company's stock worth $19,526,000 after buying an additional 60,779 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Upwork by 174.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 54,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 34,534 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Upwork

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

Upwork Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of UPWK stock traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.19. 4,406,454 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,997,400. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.90 and a 1 year high of $18.14. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $13.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.09.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $194.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.56 million. Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. Upwork's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Research analysts predict that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Upwork announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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