Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) Releases FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.350-1.370 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.150. The company issued revenue guidance of $782.0 million-$787.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $773.0 million. Upwork also updated its Q4 2025 guidance to 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UPWK. Wall Street Zen upgraded Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 28th. UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on Upwork and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.42.

Upwork Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.31 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.63. 3,874,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,575,257. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.14. Upwork has a 12-month low of $11.13 and a 12-month high of $20.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 3.36.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a net margin of 31.75% and a return on equity of 44.83%. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Upwork will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Upwork announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, September 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total transaction of $825,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,093,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,046,353.60. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $263,458.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 209,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,895,355.68. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 222,576 shares of company stock valued at $3,670,318. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Upwork

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Upwork by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,036,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,928,000 after acquiring an additional 225,856 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 353.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 311,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,181,000 after acquiring an additional 242,516 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 19,361.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,485 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Upwork by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,861,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,458,000 after acquiring an additional 231,103 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Upwork during the second quarter valued at about $1,311,000. 77.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Upwork Company Profile

Upwork Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company’s work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development.