Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY)

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $220.00 price objective on the software maker’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday, January 13th. They set an overweight rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on shares of Workday in a report on Monday, January 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on shares of Workday from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Workday from $235.00 to $223.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Workday from $217.00 to $195.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $214.47.

Workday Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDAY opened at $185.85 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.53. Workday has a 52-week low of $128.72 and a 52-week high of $250.00. The firm has a market cap of $47.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -154.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 189.05 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 29th. The software maker reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.18. Workday had a negative net margin of 5.29% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Workday will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Workday declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software maker to reacquire up to 1.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In related news, CFO Barbara A. Larson sold 904 shares of Workday stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.05, for a total transaction of $159,149.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,483,317.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Workday news, CEO Aneel Bhusri sold 2,787 shares of Workday stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.72, for a total value of $450,713.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 415,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,230,561.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Barbara A. Larson sold 904 shares of Workday stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.05, for a total transaction of $159,149.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,483,317.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 119,548 shares of company stock worth $20,795,439. 21.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Workday

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Workday during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Workday during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Workday by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 213 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Workday by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 252 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Fieldpoint Private Securities LLC boosted its position in Workday by 68.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fieldpoint Private Securities LLC now owns 252 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 66.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Workday Company Profile

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Workday, Inc engages in the development of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. It delivers financial management, human capital management and analytics applications designed for companies, educational institutions and government agencies. The company was founded by David A.