Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital lowered shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Upwork from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

Upwork Trading Down 0.9%

UPWK stock opened at $9.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $8.82 and its 200 day moving average is $11.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.99. Upwork has a 12-month low of $7.44 and a 12-month high of $22.84.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $191,264.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 797,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,499,584.25. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.15, for a total transaction of $74,727.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 341,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,784,113.35. This trade represents a 2.61% 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 sold a total of 34,471 shares of company stock valued at $281,446 over the last ninety days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Upwork in the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 19.6% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 38,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Upwork by 43.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Upwork by 7,074.5% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 726,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,966,000 after acquiring an additional 716,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 35.1% during the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 52,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 13,688 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.