Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

Several brokerages have commented on UPWK. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Upwork from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th.

Upwork Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ UPWK opened at $20.05 on Friday. Upwork has a 1 year low of $11.13 and a 1 year high of $22.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.37 and its 200-day moving average is $16.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.01.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.The business had revenue of $201.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 18,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.70, for a total value of $308,833.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 237,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,968,120.40. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Steele sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $218,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 85,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,490,608.79. This represents a 12.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 523,248 shares of company stock worth $10,029,741 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 8.0% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Upwork by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Upwork by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 264,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Straightline Group LLC increased its stake in Upwork by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 38,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 998.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.