Roth Capital Issues Positive Outlook for Upwork Earnings

Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) – Equities research analysts at Roth Capital increased their Q3 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Upwork in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, November 5th. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now forecasts that the company will earn $0.35 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.28. Roth Capital currently has a “Buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Upwork’s current full-year earnings is $0.84 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Upwork’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.32 EPS.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). Upwork had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 31.63%.The firm had revenue of ($387.62) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Upwork’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Upwork has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.350-1.370 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on UPWK. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $20.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Upwork from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Upwork from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised their price target on Upwork from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Upwork in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Upwork currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Upwork Stock Up 6.2%

Upwork stock traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.16. The stock had a trading volume of 885,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,042. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.21. Upwork has a 52-week low of $11.13 and a 52-week high of $20.54.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 115,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after buying an additional 13,044 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Upwork in the 1st quarter worth about $1,258,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Upwork in the 1st quarter worth about $4,614,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Upwork by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 68,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Upwork by 747.7% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 297,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 262,840 shares during the period. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dave Bottoms sold 10,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $208,729.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,478.44. This trade represents a 51.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 19,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $263,458.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 209,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,895,355.68. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 222,576 shares of company stock valued at $3,670,318. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Upwork announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.