Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

UPWK has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total value of $191,264.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 797,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,499,584.25. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $74,727.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 341,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,784,113.35. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 33,913 shares of company stock valued at $276,391 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 68.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 191,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,501,000 after acquiring an additional 78,123 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 3,599 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 619,459 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 10.2% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 31,378 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in Upwork by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 4,230 shares during the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $9.16 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.31. Upwork has a 52 week low of $7.44 and a 52 week high of $22.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.99.

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.