Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Upwork from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 23,468 shares of the firm’s 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 $191,264.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 797,495 shares in the company, valued at $6,499,584.25. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 341,609 shares in the company, valued at $2,784,113.35. This represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,913 shares of company stock worth $276,391. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UPWK. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,782,000. Ancient Art L.P. increased its holdings in Upwork by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ancient Art L.P. now owns 4,268,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,269,000 after purchasing an additional 494,759 shares during the period. Burney Co. bought a new stake in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at $3,342,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Upwork by 1,566.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 105,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,000 after purchasing an additional 98,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 547.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 73,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 61,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Price Performance

Upwork stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.82. 2,339,400 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,934,832. The business’s 50-day moving average is $8.71 and its 200-day moving average is $12.89. Upwork has a 12-month low of $7.44 and a 12-month high of $22.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.99.

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.