Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 33.05% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.91.

Upwork Stock Performance

UPWK opened at $18.79 on Tuesday. Upwork has a 1 year low of $11.13 and a 1 year high of $22.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 1.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gary Steele sold 12,500 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $218,875.00. Following the sale, the director owned 85,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,608.79. The trade was a 12.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $186,215.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 246,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,079,573.59. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 523,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,029,741 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Upwork

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Upwork by 5,280.0% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 594.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Upwork by 998.4% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Upwork by 2,405.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Upwork by 379.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Upwork

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record full‑year results and strong profitability — Upwork reported record 2025 revenue of $787.8M and robust adjusted EBITDA (29% margin for the year; Q4 adjusted EBITDA $52.9M), which supports longer‑term cash generation and operating leverage. GlobeNewswire: Upwork Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance modestly above consensus — management gave full‑year EPS guidance of $1.43–$1.48 (vs. ~$1.41 consensus) and revenue guidance $835–$850M (vs. ~$832.5M consensus), which suggests the company expects continued annual growth. Yahoo Finance: Q4 highlights & guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 top‑line roughly in line but mixed metric reporting — Q4 revenue was $198.4M (+3.6% YoY), essentially in‑line with estimates, while gross profit and operating profit improved. Some outlets emphasize an adjusted/operating beat, others highlight weaker GAAP metrics — creating mixed readthroughs. Quiver Quantitative: Q4 results summary
• Negative Sentiment: Disappointing Q1 guidance — management lowered near‑term expectations, issuing Q1 EPS guidance of $0.26–$0.28 and revenue $192–$197M versus consensus of ~$0.36 EPS and ~$201M revenue; this guidance shortfall is the primary catalyst for the selloff. MSN: Upwork stock plummets after hours — here’s why
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP EPS miss / headline confusion — some reports show GAAP diluted EPS of $0.12 (well below certain consensus/adjusted figures), contributing to investor confusion and negative sentiment when headlines contrast adjusted vs. GAAP metrics. Zacks: Upwork misses Q4 earnings estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and post‑close weakness — reports of concentrated insider share sales in recent months and a sharp after‑hours drop (~20%+ in some headlines) amplified selling pressure following the release. Quiver Quantitative: insider activity and stock reaction

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.