LSV Asset Management Buys 4,199,244 Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Upwork Inc. by 364.5% during the first quarter, owning a total of 5,351,406 shares valued at approximately $69.8 million.
• Several hedge funds made significant purchases in Upwork, with 77.71% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Upwork reported $0.34 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.25, with revenues also exceeding projections at $192.71 million.

LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 364.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,351,406 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,199,244 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 3.95% of Upwork worth $69,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at $504,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 5.7% in the first quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in shares of Upwork by 64.4% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 43,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16,944 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at $13,713,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the first quarter valued at $1,394,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total value of $320,403.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,153,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,583,582.35. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total value of $125,197.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 190,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,576,870.38. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 545,454 shares of company stock valued at $9,172,963. 7.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Upwork from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.67.

Upwork Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $11.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.40. Upwork Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $18.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.38.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Upwork had a return on equity of 48.38% and a net margin of 30.46%. The firm had revenue of $192.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Upwork 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.