What Happened?
Shares of online work marketplace Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK) jumped 9.3% in the afternoon session after investment bank UBS upgraded the stock to "Buy" from "Neutral," citing signs of a potential rebound in growth. The firm kept its price target at $21 but highlighted positive trends. The upgrade stemmed from improving web traffic and higher client spending on the freelancing platform. UBS noted these factors suggested Upwork could return to growth in its gross services volume—the total value of work done on its platform. This potential turnaround followed five consecutive quarters of declines in the key metric and was seen as a significant catalyst for the stock.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Upwork’s shares are quite volatile and have had 19 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 18 days ago when the stock dropped 3.7% on the news that President Trump threatened to impose "massive" new tariffs on Chinese imports, reigniting trade war fears. The unexpected announcement shattered a monthslong calm on Wall Street, sending major indices tumbling. The S&P 500 dropped around 1.3%, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 1.7%. Investors reacted by selling off stocks, particularly in the technology and retail sectors, amid concerns that escalating trade tensions could disrupt global supply chains and increase costs for companies. The sell-off marked a significant reversal from the morning's slight gains, highlighting the market's sensitivity to geopolitical trade developments.
Upwork is up 7.5% since the beginning of the year, but at $17.64 per share, it is still trading 12.1% below its 52-week high of $20.07 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Upwork’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $923.50.
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