Scotiabank Has Lowered Expectations for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Stock Price

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) had its price target cut by research analysts at Scotiabank from $17.00 to $15.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank’s price target indicates a potential upside of 3.26% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on UPWK. Citigroup lowered their price target on Upwork from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Upwork from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Upwork from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Upwork from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Upwork Trading Down 4.4%

UPWK stock opened at $14.53 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.71. Upwork has a 52 week low of $11.13 and a 52 week high of $22.84. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 1.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 9,622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.66, for a total value of $198,790.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,127.70. The trade was a 96.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 9,044 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $186,215.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 246,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,079,573.59. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 523,248 shares of company stock valued at $10,029,741 over the last quarter. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 998.4% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Upwork by 594.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Upwork during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Upwork by 2,405.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Upwork News

Here are the key news stories impacting Upwork this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record revenue and strong AI-driven growth — Upwork reported record Q4 revenue and highlighted AI-enabled GSV growth (~50% YoY), supporting longer-term TAM expansion and monetization potential. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects reacceleration — Management said AI investments should become a tailwind and expects growth to reaccelerate in 2026, signaling confidence in the strategy to monetize AI services and SMB adoption. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain bullish or upgraded — Several firms reaffirmed or raised ratings (e.g., Needham $25 PT, UBS maintains Buy though trims PT), and some commentators upgraded the stock post‑selloff citing attractive valuation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and presentation — The full Q4 call and presentation provide more color on client cohorts, monetization cadence and AI roadmap for modeling different recovery scenarios. Useful for detailed financial modeling. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: AI expansion and SMB traction offset parts of weak guidance — Deep-dive coverage emphasizes that SMB growth and new AI features partially offset the guidance miss, making the story mixed rather than purely negative. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Softer 2026 guidance triggered a sharp selloff — Management’s lighter near-term outlook undercut the record‑growth narrative and sparked heavy after‑hours selling and follow‑on weakness. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: After‑hours plunge and technical breakdown — The stock fell sharply after the report (double‑digit after‑hours drop previously reported) and has breached key support levels, which can amplify short‑term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Client softness and analyst PT cuts — Active clients declined (~6%), raising questions about sustained demand; some shops trimmed price targets (Scotiabank to $15; UBS trimmed PT), increasing near‑term downside risk. Read More.

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.