Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 463,348 Shares of Upwork Inc. $UPWK

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK) by 169.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 737,234 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 463,348 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Upwork were worth $6,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UPWK. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Upwork by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Straightline Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Straightline Group LLC now owns 39,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Upwork by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Upwork by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Upwork by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 45,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on UPWK shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Upwork from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Upwork from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $11.50 target price on shares of Upwork in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Upwork from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Upwork from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.05.

Upwork Price Performance

UPWK opened at $8.72 on Friday. Upwork Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.44 and a 1 year high of $22.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.79.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Upwork had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 16.70%. The company had revenue of $191.66 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Upwork has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.430 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.310-0.330 EPS.

Insider Transactions at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 73,241 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total transaction of $617,421.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 771,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,500,170.68. This trade represents a 8.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 22,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total value of $192,574.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 364,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,075,171.27. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 132,520 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,000 over the last ninety days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.