Upwork’s (UPWK) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $25.00 price objective on the stock.

UPWK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Upwork from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Upwork currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $15.20 on Tuesday. Upwork has a 52 week low of $11.13 and a 52 week high of $22.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.73.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 18,493 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $308,833.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 237,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,968,120.40. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 275,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.43, for a total value of $5,343,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 697,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,560,080.42. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 523,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,029,741 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Upwork by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,989,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,086,000 after buying an additional 322,455 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,537,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,569,000 after buying an additional 23,900 shares during the last quarter. Ancient Art L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ancient Art L.P. now owns 4,268,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,269,000 after acquiring an additional 494,759 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Upwork by 5.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,009,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,883,000 after acquiring an additional 147,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Upwork by 2.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,828,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,534,000 after acquiring an additional 71,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% 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

About Upwork

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.