Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires 463,348 Shares of Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its Upwork stake by 169.2% in the second quarter, adding 463,348 shares to own 737,234 shares worth approximately $6.16 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 77.71% of UPWK.
• Upwork reported quarterly EPS of $0.41, beating expectations of $0.34, on revenue of $191.66 million; however, revenue declined 1.7% year over year. The company guided for fiscal 2026 EPS of $1.38–$1.43.
• Insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations tied to equity vesting, including 22,844 shares sold by the CFO and 73,241 by the CEO. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $13.05.

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) by 169.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 737,234 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 463,348 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.59% of Upwork worth $6,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UPWK. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Upwork by 68.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 191,587 shares of the company's stock worth $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 78,123 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position 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 valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 3,599 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Upwork by 364.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 789,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,305,000 after buying an additional 619,459 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 338,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,420,000 after buying an additional 31,378 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Upwork by 16.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 4,230 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 22,844 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total value of $192,574.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 364,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,171.27. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 73,241 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total transaction of $617,421.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 771,076 shares in the company, valued at $6,500,170.68. The trade was a 8.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 132,520 shares of company stock worth $1,108,000 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Upwork Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $8.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50-day moving average is $8.95 and its 200-day moving average is $9.79. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.44 and a 1 year high of $22.84.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $191.66 million during the quarter. Upwork had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 12.94%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. Upwork has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.430 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UPWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Upwork from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Upwork from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Upwork from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.05.

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.

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