Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on UPWK. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Upwork from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Upwork from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.91.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $22.11 on Friday. Upwork has a 1 year low of $11.13 and a 1 year high of $22.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.05 and a 200 day moving average of $17.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 1.01.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a net margin of 31.63% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $201.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Upwork’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 18,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total transaction of $308,833.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 237,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,968,120.40. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 11,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $232,358.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $205,220.53. The trade was a 53.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 523,248 shares of company stock worth $10,029,741 over the last quarter. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 5,280.0% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Upwork by 998.4% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Upwork by 2,405.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.