Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Shares Down 4.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Upwork shares fell 4.6% to $8.765, trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Analyst sentiment is predominantly neutral, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $13.05.
• Upwork’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.41 versus the $0.34 estimate and revenue of $191.66 million, though revenue declined 1.7% year over year.
• Insiders sold shares worth approximately $1.1 million over the past 90 days to cover tax obligations, while institutional investors own a substantial 77.71% of the company.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) traded down 4.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $8.72 and last traded at $8.7650. 496,937 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 3,745,136 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Upwork from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Upwork from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Upwork from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Upwork from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.05.

Upwork Stock Down 3.6%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $8.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.01.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $191.66 million for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 22,844 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 364,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,075,171.27. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total value of $617,421.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 771,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,500,170.68. The trade was a 8.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 132,520 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,000. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 44.2% during the 4th 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 holdings in shares of Upwork by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,989,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,086,000 after purchasing an additional 322,455 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 0.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Ancient Art L.P. raised its position in shares of Upwork by 8.7% in the fourth 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, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Upwork by 26.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,715,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,720,000 after purchasing an additional 779,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company's stock.

Upwork Company Profile

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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