Wall Street Zen Upgrades Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) to “Buy”

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UPWK. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Upwork from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Upwork from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Upwork Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of UPWK opened at $13.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.06. Upwork has a 12-month low of $11.13 and a 12-month high of $22.84.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 18% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 123,152 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $1,699,497.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 776,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,709,724.60. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 26,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $362,829.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 298,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,117,726.80. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 585,204 shares of company stock worth $10,429,236 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Upwork by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,231,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,970 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,989,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,086,000 after purchasing an additional 322,455 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Upwork by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,537,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,569,000 after purchasing an additional 23,900 shares during the last quarter. Ancient Art L.P. boosted its holdings in Upwork by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancient Art L.P. now owns 4,640,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,981,000 after purchasing an additional 372,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Upwork by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,585,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,071,000 after purchasing an additional 576,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Upwork News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorizes a flexible $300 million buyback (authorizes repurchases of roughly 18% of shares), a meaningful capital‑return action that can reduce float and support EPS and investor sentiment. Globe and Mail: Buyback Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction was initially positive — coverage notes shares rose on the buyback news, showing short‑term demand lift from the announcement. Investing.com: Market Reaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / institutional context is mixed: consensus is a modest “moderate buy” with an average target (~$22.60) well above the current price, and institutions own ~78% of the stock — the buyback may prompt revisions but not unanimous upgrades. MarketBeat: Analyst & Ownership Context
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Hayden Brown sold 123,152 shares (~$1.7M at ~$13.80); CFO Erica Gessert and other insiders (Dave Bottoms) also reduced positions — large insider disposals can be interpreted negatively by investors. SEC filings for the CEO sale are here and the InsiderTrades writeup for other insider sales is here. CEO SEC Filing InsiderTrades: Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals/liquidity are unfavorable near term: shares remain well below the 50‑day moving average and today’s volume is light versus average, increasing downside volatility risk despite the buyback. MarketBeat: Technicals

About Upwork

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.