Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Acquires 55,900 Shares of Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 505,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 55,900 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.39% of Upwork worth $9,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Upwork by 219.0% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 507,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,416,000 after acquiring an additional 348,127 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Upwork by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 316,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 51,288 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Upwork by 2,405.7% during the 3rd 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. Straightline Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 38,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 138,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,574,000 after buying an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Upwork

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Upwork from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Upwork from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Upwork in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Upwork from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.60.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In related news, CFO Erica Gessert sold 26,292 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $362,829.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 298,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,117,726.80. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dave Bottoms sold 15,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total value of $211,417.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660.95. This trade represents a 97.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 585,204 shares of company stock worth $10,429,236 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Upwork Stock Performance

NASDAQ UPWK opened at $13.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.03 and a 200-day moving average of $17.72. Upwork Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.13 and a 52-week high of $22.84.

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

Upwork 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.