Invenomic Capital Management LP Acquires New Holdings in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,334,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,782,000. Upwork accounts for 1.2% of Invenomic Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Invenomic Capital Management LP owned 1.02% of Upwork as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UPWK. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Upwork by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 222,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,126,000 after acquiring an additional 23,689 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in Upwork in the third quarter worth about $1,009,000. Ancient Art L.P. lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 13.1% during the third quarter. Ancient Art L.P. now owns 4,268,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,269,000 after buying an additional 494,759 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 141,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after buying an additional 47,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its position in shares of Upwork by 384.4% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 236,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,383,000 after buying an additional 187,300 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Upwork from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $22.00 price objective on Upwork in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Upwork from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 17,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $234,779.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,994 shares in the company, valued at $220,717.20. This trade represents a 51.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 26,292 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $362,829.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 298,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,117,726.80. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 235,204 shares of company stock valued at $3,602,486. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $12.21 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.75 and a 200 day moving average of $17.68. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.13 and a 1 year high of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 1.08.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Upwork Profile

Upwork Inc operates a leading online talent marketplace that connects businesses with independent professionals worldwide. Through its digital platform, the company enables clients across industries—including technology, marketing, creative services and customer support—to source, hire and manage freelance talent on demand. Key features of the Upwork platform include streamlined job posting, proposal evaluation, time-tracking tools, invoicing and secure payment processing, all designed to simplify collaboration between clients and remote workers.

The company traces its roots to the merger of two pioneering freelance marketplaces, Elance (founded in 1998) and oDesk (founded in 2003), which combined in 2015 to form a unified entity.