Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts assign Upwork a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from 13 brokers (7 buys, 6 holds) with an average 1-year price target of $22.60.
• Upwork's board approved a $300 million share repurchase program (up to 18% of shares), signaling management believes the stock may be undervalued.
• Insiders have sold 235,186 shares (~$3.16M) in the past 90 days—including sales by Dave Bottoms and CFO Erica Gessert—leaving insiders with 7.6% ownership while institutional investors hold about 77.7%.

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.60.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UPWK shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Upwork from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Upwork from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Upwork from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Upwork from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 17,013 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $234,779.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $220,717.20. The trade was a 51.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 26,292 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total value of $362,829.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 298,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,117,726.80. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 235,186 shares of company stock valued at $3,156,199 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Balboa Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Upwork in the first quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Upwork by 434.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Upwork by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 58,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 12,039 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Upwork in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Upwork by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,585,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,071,000 after buying an additional 576,512 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Upwork Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of UPWK stock opened at $11.09 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $12.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.52. Upwork has a 12 month low of $10.27 and a 12 month high of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.18.

Upwork declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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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