Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Upwork, with nine hold, three buy and one sell rating among 13 brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $13.05.
• Upwork’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.41 versus the $0.34 consensus and revenue of $191.66 million, although revenue declined 1.7% year over year.
• Shares opened at $8.61, well below the analyst average target and near the lower end of their 12-month range of $7.44 to $22.84. Company insiders sold 132,520 shares worth $1.1 million over the past 90 days, primarily to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards.

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.05.

UPWK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Upwork from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Upwork from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Upwork from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $11.50 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of Upwork stock opened at $8.61 on Monday. Upwork has a 12-month low of $7.44 and a 12-month high of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.43.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $191.66 million during the quarter. Upwork had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Upwork

In other news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 22,844 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total value of $192,574.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 364,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,171.27. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 771,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,500,170.68. This trade represents a 8.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 132,520 shares of company stock worth $1,108,000 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Upwork

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Upwork by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,200 shares of the company's stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Straightline Group LLC raised its position in Upwork by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 39,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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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