How to Buy Upwork Stock (NASDAQ: UPWK)

Upwork is a popular freelancer platform that recently launched their IPO in 2018. The company acts as a middle man between freelancers and clients looking for top notch talent from anywhere in the world.

I’ve used the platform personally and found tons of awesome freelancers who can do things like writing articles, design logos, etc. Since freelancing is the future of the workplace, I plan to own Upwork shares for a long time as we continue to transition from the standard 9 to 5 to the gig economy.

The stock trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol: UPWK.

1. Open a Brokerage Account

There are two different types of brokerage accounts: discount online brokers and full service brokers.

The cheapest option is to open a discount brokerage account because they charge lower trade commissions, lower overall fees and make things easier for the average investor.

If you need more hands on services and investment insight, then try opening a full service brokerage account.

Here are my favorites:

• Ally Invest: Best online discount broker with $0 stock trades and zero minimums
• Fidelity: Best full-service broker with $0 stock trades and zero minimums
• Robinhood: Best Free stock trading broker with $0 trading commissions (Good for younger investors)

2. Decide How Much You Want to Invest

Upwork shares are currently under $10 so you only need around $10 to buy 1 share.

Here’s a breakdown of how many shares you can currently buy based on current Upwork stock prices:

• $10 buys around 1 Upwork share
• $100 buys around 10 Upwork shares
• $1,000 buys around 100 Upwork shares
• $10,000 buys around 1,000 Upwork shares

The most common investment is 100 shares aka a round lot. A $1,000 investment in Upwork is a good starting place and you can buy more shares over time to increase your stake.

3. Place Your Trade

Once your account is setup, it’s time to purchase some shares. When you enter the ticker into your account, you will see two numbers: the bid and the ask.

It’s a gap between the highest and lowest price buyers and sellers are willing to pay. It’s a good strategy to buy on dips, meaning buying the stock near the lowest bid or the day’s lowest price.

When making your trade, you will be asked to enter the following:

• Number of Shares: Total number of shares you are buying
• Order Type: Market or Limit Order
• Execution Time: GTD (Good until Cancelled) or For today only

A market order is when your order will be filled immediately regardless of price. This is best for long term investors but is dangerous when a stock is soaring quickly in value. You can sometimes buy at the peak then watch the stock fall in price shortly after.

A limit order is when you set a maximum price you are willing to pay for a stock. This is a much better strategy and lets you prevent overpaying on a stock. If the stock doesn’t reach your limit, then the order never executes.

Submit your order and now your order will be filled by your broker. Be sure to refresh your account until the order status has changed to filled.

Once your order has been filled, you are officially a Upwork shareholder!