Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Upwork's shares reached a new 52-week high of $18.22, closing at $18.00 with a trading volume of approximately 1.5 million shares.
• The company announced a $100 million stock buyback, indicating that its management believes the shares are undervalued.
• Upwork reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.35 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, alongside a revenue of $194.94 million.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $18.22 and last traded at $18.00, with a volume of 1496548 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Upwork Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $194.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.56 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 44.83% and a net margin of 31.75%.The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 2,060 shares of Upwork 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 2,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,164.40. The trade was a 50.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of Upwork 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 209,202 shares in the company, 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 112,436 shares of company stock valued at $1,550,484 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Upwork during the second quarter valued at $30,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Upwork by 415.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Upwork during the second quarter valued at $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Upwork by 19,361.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Upwork by 3,492.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 3,877 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.