{"id":397257,"date":"2022-01-20T18:45:53","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T15:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/short-seller-spruce-point-targets-taskus-a-facebook-moderator\/"},"modified":"2022-01-20T18:45:53","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T15:45:53","slug":"short-seller-spruce-point-targets-taskus-a-facebook-moderator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/short-seller-spruce-point-targets-taskus-a-facebook-moderator\/","title":{"rendered":"#Short seller Spruce Point targets TaskUs, a Facebook moderator"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Short seller Spruce Point targets TaskUs, a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> moderator<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Hedge fund Spruce Point Capital said it has bet against the shares of a company Facebook uses to screen controversial message chats, claiming the firm has a pattern of painting an overly rosy picture of its business.<\/p>\n<p>TaskUs is one of more than 10 outside moderators that Facebook currently contracts to determine, based on Facebook\u2019s rules, whether to remove objectionable content from its site. <\/p>\n<p>Spruce Point claims that TaskUs\u2019s competitive position and the content moderation industry\u2019s prospects <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly have both slipped. There also are signs of alleged cash flow issues, Spruce Point Founder and CIO Ben Axler told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe observe that TaskUs\u2019 unbilled receivables to last 12 months revenues had been rising steadily for 18 months. This trend suggests that TaskUs may have been booking revenue ahead of receiving collections,\u201d Axler says.<\/p>\n<p>Accenture is the biggest player in the social networking monitoring space. TaskUs generates 28 percent of its business from the social-networking giant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a possibility Facebook moves more of this work in house and outsources it to fewer providers,\u201d Axler added. \u201cWe find evidence of increasing financial strain in the [Facebook] relationship, and believe margins and cash flow are set to contract more than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Facebook on a computer screen\" class=\"wp-image-20899359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Spruce Point raised concerns that Facebook may take more of its content moderating operations in house, posing a danger to TaskUs, which it says takes 28 percent of its business from Facebook.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Spruce Point Thursday morning released a slide presentation giving its short rationale. In response, a TaskUs spokesperson said the report was \u201cdesigned for the sole purpose of negatively impacting TaskUs\u2019 share price for Spruce Point\u2019s own benefit.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are reviewing the report and will take <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ropriate steps in response to the assertions,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cWe remain confident in our strategy, our value proposition and our ability to create value for our clients, teammates and shareholders. We continue to see a strong growth trajectory and look forward to sharing information on our financial and operational performance during our fourth quarter earnings call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>TaskUs shares on Wednesday closed at $35.59. On Thursday morning, the shares were recently off 11.7% at $31.44. The stock faces long-term downside risk to trading between $21 and $27 a share, Axler said. <\/p>\n<p>When TaskUs went public in June, the company cited a September 2019 market report from the Everest Group which projected 40 to 50 percent industry growth to $5.8 billion in 2021. In May, however, Everest valued the content moderation market at between $4 billion and $5 billion and projected a lower 30 to 40 percent growth rate, according to data from TaskUs competitor Majorel Group.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, Spruce Point is raising alarm bells about the attrition rate for TaskUs employees, most of whom are in the Philippines. The fund also quotes an anonymous former TaskUs executive who claims there is wage inflation in the Philippines and that wages are going to rise for TaskUs by 10 to 20 percent.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Facebook logos\" class=\"wp-image-20899297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook2-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>TaskUs responded that the short seller\u2019s report is \u201cdesigned for the sole purpose of negatively impacting TaskUs\u2019 share price for Spruce Point\u2019s own benefit.\u201d<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Gett<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Spruce Point on July 14 went public with a short thesis on oat-based drinks maker Oatly which, like TaskUs, has private-equity giant Blackstone Group as a major backer. Oatly shares sine have fallen to around $7 a share from $20 a share.<\/p>\n<p>Blackstone since October 2019 took out $837 million from TaskUs through dividends and stock sales, Axler said, so it has already made a big return on its roughly $250 million fund investment. Perhaps, he said, Blackstone was focused on short-term profits rather than the long-term prospects.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Axler said the fact Blackstone controls listed TaskUs is part of the reason he started researching the stock, and came to believe that both Oatly and TaskUs were exaggerating their growth claims.<\/p>\n<p>Th\u201dis is a blatant attempt to influence this company\u2019s stock price for the sole benefit of a short seller,\u201d Blackstone said in a statement. \u201cTaskUs is a trusted partner to many high growth <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> companies, which not only had a successful IPO but also significantly grew revenues and added thousands of jobs since Blackstone\u2019s investment in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Facebook didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment. .\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/20\/short-seller-spruce-point-targets-taskus-a-facebook-moderator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Short seller Spruce Point targets TaskUs, a Facebook moderator&#8221; Hedge fund Spruce Point Capital said it has bet against the shares of a company Facebook uses to screen controversial message chats, claiming the firm has a pattern of painting an overly rosy picture of its business. TaskUs is one of more than 10 outside moderators&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":397258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/facebook3.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[124400,88721,4974,70463,76646],"class_list":["post-397257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-1-20-22","tag-blackstone-group","tag-facebook","tag-short-seller","tag-social-networks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}