Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.91.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $22.11 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 1.01. Upwork has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $22.32.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $201.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $186,215.96. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Steele sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $218,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 85,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,608.79. The trade was a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 523,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,029,741. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Upwork by 594.4% in 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 last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Upwork by 998.4% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Upwork by 2,405.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Upwork by 379.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

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.