Lazard Asset Management LLC Takes $1.87 Million Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 114,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,874,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Upwork as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UPWK. Nkcfo LLC bought a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Upwork by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at $180,000. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas Layton sold 250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.47, for a total value of $4,367,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,867,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,629,924.43. This trade represents a 11.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $852,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,215,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,254,178.60. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 566,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,478,580 in the last three months. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Upwork Stock Performance

UPWK traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,395,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,259,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.52. Upwork Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.43 and a twelve month high of $18.14. The company's 50-day moving average price is $14.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.29.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.49 million. Upwork had a net margin of 28.02% and a return on equity of 50.83%. The firm's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPWK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Upwork from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.