Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $23.00. The stock had previously closed at $18.79, but opened at $15.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Upwork shares last traded at $15.8350, with a volume of 3,806,157 shares trading hands.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Upwork from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 9,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $198,790.52. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $476,596.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 721,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,848,643.22. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 523,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,029,741 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Upwork

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record full‑year revenue and strong profitability — Upwork reported record 2025 revenue of $787.8M, robust adjusted EBITDA (29% margin) and GAAP net income, underscoring solid cash generation and operating leverage that support valuation upside. GlobeNewswire — Q4 & FY Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue roughly in line and some beat on metrics — several outlets note Q4 revenue (~$198.4M) was close to consensus and some metrics/earnings beats were reported, supporting the view that the core business remains profitable. MarketBeat — Q4 Snapshot
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven marketplace growth — Upwork highlighted AI-related gross services volume (GSV) growth (management noted strong AI adoption), positioning the platform to capture new workload even as AI reshapes demand. Analysts and bulls cite this as a long‑term tailwind. Yahoo — Q4 Deep Dive
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed but many remain constructive — several firms reaffirm or maintain buy ratings with mid‑$20s targets (Needham, UBS still “buy” despite trimming targets), while some desks trimmed near‑term targets. This leaves a wide range of views for investors to weigh. Benzinga — Analyst Revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Disappointing near‑term guidance drove the selloff — management gave Q1 2026 revenue and EPS guidance below consensus (Q1 revenue ~$192–197M vs. ~$201M est.; Q1 EPS guidance below consensus), which triggered a steep after‑hours decline as investors reprice near‑term growth. Yahoo — Why UPWK Is Down
• Negative Sentiment: After‑hours plunge and heavy selling — multiple outlets reported a ~20–23% after‑hours drop and elevated volume as traders reacted to guidance and mixed quarter details. That momentum amplified intraday weakness. MSN — After‑hours Plunge
• Negative Sentiment: Signs of demand softness — active clients fell (~6% reported by some transcripts/analyst notes) and some outlets flagged EPS/revenue misses on certain metrics, increasing concern that AI may be displacing some freelancer demand in the near term. Seeking Alpha — Rating Upgrade/Notes
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst trims and insider selling add pressure — a few firms cut price targets (UBS trimmed to $23; Scotiabank cut to $15) and public insider sales were highlighted in coverage, which can weigh on sentiment. Benzinga — Price Target Notes

Institutional Trading of Upwork

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Upwork by 68.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 191,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 78,123 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Upwork by 5.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 364.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 789,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,305,000 after buying an additional 619,459 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 338,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,420,000 after acquiring an additional 31,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 415.9% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.18 and its 200 day moving average is $17.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 1.06.

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.