UPWORK, INC (UPWK) Short Interest

Shares short, days to cover, historical percentile

UPWK Short Interest & Days to Cover

UPWORK, INC (UPWK) currently has 22.9M shares short as of the Jul 31, 2026 settlement date, or about 6.8 days to cover at current trading volume. That is higher than 96% of the 158 readings on record since Jan 15, 2020, on a days-to-cover basis. Shares short have fallen for 1 straight reporting period. Looking at recent periods where short interest increased, the stock is now averaging -6.5% since those additions, recent short sellers are broadly profitable on that basis.

Historical Level
Near multi-year high
96th percentile of 158 readings since Jan 15, 2020
Trend
Falling, 1 reports
Current: 22.9M shares short
Days to Cover
6.8 days · High
96th percentile for this stock
Current Short Position
Shares short
22.9M
Days to cover
6.8
Days-to-cover percentile
96th
Avg daily volume
3.4M
Est. $ value of short position
$206.46M

As of the Jul 31, 2026 settlement date, short interest is reported roughly every two weeks, not in real time.

See UPWK's full volatility profile →
Is This Normal for UPWK?

Days to cover, compared against every biweekly reading on record for this stock specifically, not the market as a whole.

Historical average
4.2 days
Historical median
4.1 days
Highest on record
7.5 days
May 31, 2024
Lowest on record
1.2 days
Aug 14, 2020
Are Shorts Covering, or Building a Bigger Bet?

Short interest moving alone does not say much, what matters is whether it is moving with or against the price. Each period below compares the change in short interest to the stock's move over the same window.

Settlement DateSI ChangeRead
Jul 31, 2026-10.7%
Jul 15, 2026+2.4%New bearish bets despite strength
Jun 30, 2026+5.3%Building into weakness
Jun 15, 2026+4.2%Building into weakness
May 29, 2026+1.2%
May 15, 2026-12.8%Covering into weakness
Apr 30, 2026+8.1%Building into weakness
Apr 15, 2026+6.6%New bearish bets despite strength
Are Short Sellers Winning?

Comparing the stock's price at each recent short-interest-increase to where it trades today. An estimate based on settlement-date prices, not any individual short seller's real entry.

Avg return since these additions
-6.5%
Shorts profitable in
67% of these periods
Build DatePrice ThenReturn Since
Mar 31, 2026$10.96-17.7%
Apr 15, 2026$11.30-20.2%
Apr 30, 2026$10.35-12.9%
Jun 15, 2026$8.48+6.4%
Jun 30, 2026$8.36+7.9%
Jul 15, 2026$9.24-2.4%
What Happened Last Time Short Interest Was This High?

The 40 periods where short interest was in the top quarter of UPWK's own history on record (+5.16% or higher), and what followed.

Forward WindowAvg ReturnWin Rate
3 months-2.1%37% (n=35)
6 months+14.7%62% (n=29)
12 months+6.3%63% (n=24)

A historical pattern in UPWK's own data, not a prediction.

Biggest Short Interest Moves on Record
Biggest builds
Nov 28, 2025 · +91.4% (5.9 days to cover)
May 15, 2023 · +65.0% (5.9 days to cover)
Jun 30, 2020 · +61.1% (2.4 days to cover)
Biggest covers
Mar 31, 2020 · -33.4% (1.9 days to cover)
May 29, 2020 · -25.7% (1.6 days to cover)
Jan 15, 2025 · -24.4% (4.0 days to cover)
Complete Short Interest History

Every biweekly settlement reading on record, most recent first. Page 3 of 4.

Settlement DateShares ShortDays to CoverAvg Daily VolumeChange
May 31, 20226.8M4.81.4M+9.1%
May 13, 20226.2M4.31.5M+21.2%
Apr 29, 20225.1M3.41.5M+0.8%
Apr 14, 20225.1M3.11.6M+5.6%
Mar 31, 20224.8M2.71.8M+4.1%
Mar 15, 20224.6M2.51.9M-12.8%
Feb 28, 20225.3M2.91.8M-15.6%
Feb 15, 20226.3M3.51.8M+9.0%
Jan 31, 20225.8M3.51.7M+9.7%
Jan 14, 20225.3M3.31.6M+2.3%
Dec 31, 20215.2M3.31.6M-18.6%
Dec 15, 20216.3M4.01.6M+12.0%
Nov 30, 20215.7M3.71.5M+20.2%
Nov 15, 20214.7M3.31.4M-13.9%
Oct 29, 20215.5M3.31.6M-10.3%
Oct 15, 20216.1M3.91.6M+1.5%
Sep 30, 20216.0M3.61.7M-0.7%
Sep 15, 20216.0M3.31.8M+8.4%
Aug 31, 20215.6M3.11.8M+9.0%
Aug 13, 20215.1M2.81.8M+29.7%
Jul 30, 20213.9M2.11.9M-3.2%
Jul 15, 20214.1M2.41.7M-0.2%
Jun 30, 20214.1M2.61.6M-16.7%
Jun 15, 20214.9M3.51.4M-10.7%
May 28, 20215.5M3.41.6M-4.4%
May 14, 20215.7M2.92.0M+12.8%
Apr 30, 20215.1M2.71.9M-24.1%
Apr 15, 20216.7M3.32.1M-15.0%
Mar 31, 20217.9M3.62.2M-0.8%
Mar 15, 20218.0M3.52.3M+20.5%
Feb 26, 20216.6M3.02.2M+2.8%
Feb 12, 20216.4M3.12.1M+0.2%
Jan 29, 20216.4M2.52.6M-5.5%
Jan 15, 20216.8M2.82.5M+13.9%
Dec 31, 20206.0M2.42.5M+12.7%
Dec 15, 20205.3M2.12.5M+2.7%
Nov 30, 20205.1M2.02.6M+1.4%
Nov 13, 20205.1M2.12.4M+15.0%
Oct 30, 20204.4M1.92.3M-0.9%
Oct 15, 20204.5M1.92.3M+15.9%
Sep 30, 20203.8M1.62.5M-4.5%
Sep 15, 20204.0M1.42.8M-6.5%
Aug 31, 20204.3M1.52.8M+18.5%
Aug 14, 20203.6M1.23.0M-12.9%
Jul 31, 20204.2M1.43.0M-18.7%
Jul 15, 20205.1M1.82.9M-18.6%
Jun 30, 20206.3M2.42.7M+61.1%
Jun 15, 20203.9M1.72.3M+4.3%
May 29, 20203.8M1.62.4M-25.7%
May 15, 20205.0M2.22.3M+25.9%
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is UPWK's current short interest?

UPWORK, INC has 22.9M shares sold short as of Jul 31, 2026. Days to cover is 6.8.

Is UPWK's short interest high or low right now?

On a days-to-cover basis, current short interest is higher than 96% of the 158 biweekly readings on record, spanning Jan 15, 2020 to Jul 31, 2026. The historical average days to cover is 4.2, and the highest on record is 7.5 days, on May 31, 2024.

Is short interest in UPWK rising or falling?

Shares short have fallen for 1 consecutive reporting period.

Are short sellers in UPWK currently winning or losing?

Looking at the 6 most recent periods where short interest increased, the stock has averaged -6.5% since those additions, with price now below the entry level in 67% of those cases. This is an estimate based on the price at each settlement date, not a precise tracking of any individual short seller's actual entry.

What has historically happened after UPWK's short interest was this high?

In the 40 periods where days to cover was in the top quarter of this ticker's own history (5.2 days or higher), the stock averaged +14.7% over the following 6 months (positive 62% of the time, n=29). This is a historical pattern, not a prediction.

Sourced from biweekly exchange short interest settlement data for UPWK, not real-time. This page does not include cost-to-borrow, daily short volume, dark pool activity, or failure-to-deliver data, none of which exist in this data source. This is historical data, not investment advice. Read disclaimer →