Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Trading Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) shares fell 4.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $19.55 and last traded at $19.5520. 212,288 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,634,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Upwork from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.

Upwork Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.73. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.01.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.The business had revenue of $201.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Upwork’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. Research analysts expect that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In related news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 9,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total transaction of $198,790.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,127.70. This trade represents a 96.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,044 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $186,215.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 246,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,079,573.59. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 523,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,029,741 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Upwork by 73.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 162,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,216,000 after purchasing an additional 68,475 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Upwork during the fourth quarter valued at about $296,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Upwork in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 379.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Upwork in the third quarter worth approximately $3,008,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upwork Company 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.