Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UPWK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Upwork from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $22.00 price objective on Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Upwork from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Upwork currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Upwork Price Performance

Upwork stock opened at $13.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.06. Upwork has a 12 month low of $11.13 and a 12 month high of $22.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.03 and its 200-day moving average is $17.72.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 275,000 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.43, for a total value of $5,343,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 697,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,560,080.42. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 26,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $362,829.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 298,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,117,726.80. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 585,204 shares of company stock valued at $10,429,236. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Upwork by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,231,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,970 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,989,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,086,000 after acquiring an additional 322,455 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Upwork by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,537,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,569,000 after purchasing an additional 23,900 shares in the last quarter. Ancient Art L.P. increased its position in shares of Upwork by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancient Art L.P. now owns 4,640,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,981,000 after purchasing an additional 372,147 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,585,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,071,000 after buying an additional 576,512 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upwork News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorizes a flexible $300 million buyback (authorizes repurchases of roughly 18% of shares), a meaningful capital‑return action that can reduce float and support EPS and investor sentiment. Globe and Mail: Buyback Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction was initially positive — coverage notes shares rose on the buyback news, showing short‑term demand lift from the announcement. Investing.com: Market Reaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / institutional context is mixed: consensus is a modest “moderate buy” with an average target (~$22.60) well above the current price, and institutions own ~78% of the stock — the buyback may prompt revisions but not unanimous upgrades. MarketBeat: Analyst & Ownership Context
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Hayden Brown sold 123,152 shares (~$1.7M at ~$13.80); CFO Erica Gessert and other insiders (Dave Bottoms) also reduced positions — large insider disposals can be interpreted negatively by investors. SEC filings for the CEO sale are here and the InsiderTrades writeup for other insider sales is here. CEO SEC Filing InsiderTrades: Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals/liquidity are unfavorable near term: shares remain well below the 50‑day moving average and today’s volume is light versus average, increasing downside volatility risk despite the buyback. MarketBeat: Technicals

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.