Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

UPWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp downgraded Upwork from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Upwork from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Upwork news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total value of $114,212.18. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 307,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,782,124.40. This trade represents a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total transaction of $292,300.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 798,732 shares in the company, valued at $9,832,390.92. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,080 shares of company stock worth $647,675. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 5,280.0% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 998.4% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 2,405.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Upwork by 379.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,456 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK opened at $8.49 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $9.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.52. Upwork has a 12 month low of $7.44 and a 12 month high of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 1.01.

Upwork declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 18% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.