New York State Teachers Retirement System Grows Position in Upwork Inc. $UPWK

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 547.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,287 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,976 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Upwork were worth $1,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPWK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Upwork by 68.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 191,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,501,000 after buying an additional 78,123 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Upwork by 5.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 3,599 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Upwork by 364.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 789,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,305,000 after acquiring an additional 619,459 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Upwork by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 338,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,420,000 after acquiring an additional 31,378 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Upwork by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 4,230 shares in the last quarter. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upwork Stock Performance

Shares of UPWK opened at $8.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.02. Upwork Inc. has a one year low of $7.44 and a one year high of $22.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.07.

Upwork declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 18% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Upwork

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Upwork reported Q1 revenue growth of 1.4% year over year and raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance, which suggests the company is still focused on profitability. Upwork Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms still maintain bullish views despite cutting targets, including Needham keeping a Buy rating but lowering its target to $15, reflecting continued long-term confidence but less optimism on near-term growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upwork’s Q1 EPS beat some expectations, but revenue was roughly in line with estimates, leaving investors focused more on the outlook than the headline bottom-line result. Upwork earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s Q2 revenue guidance came in well below Wall Street expectations, raising concerns that growth is slowing more than expected.
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 revenue guidance also missed consensus, reinforcing worries that the company’s top-line outlook is weaker than analysts had hoped.
• Negative Sentiment: Citizens JMP and Roth MKM both downgraded the stock, while Needham cut its price target sharply, adding to the pressure on shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings reports also highlighted softer profitability metrics and restructuring plans, which may be weighing on sentiment toward UPWK.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UPWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of Upwork in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm downgraded 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Upwork from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.49, for a total transaction of $80,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,770.22. This represents a 72.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,745 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.31, for a total transaction of $292,300.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 798,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,832,390.92. This trade represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 235,186 shares of company stock valued at $3,156,199 in the last 90 days. 7.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Upwork 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.