Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Shares Up 8.8% – Here’s Why

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) shares were up 8.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $145.83 and last traded at $147.2260. Approximately 1,029,373 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 5,055,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright set a $140.00 target price on shares of Workday in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Workday from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Workday from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Workday in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Workday from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.80.

Workday Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $133.13 and its 200-day moving average is $141.37.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Workday had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Workday, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Workday

In related news, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.04, for a total transaction of $13,119,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 105,049 shares in the company, valued at $12,820,179.96. This trade represents a 50.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Zane Rowe sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.70, for a total value of $862,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 288,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,451,702. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 875,020 shares of company stock valued at $113,938,503. Corporate insiders own 18.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Workday

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Workday during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Workday in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Workday in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Workday in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Workday in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Workday Company Profile

Workday, Inc (NASDAQ: WDAY) is a provider of cloud-based enterprise applications focused on human capital management (HCM) and financial management. Founded in 2005 by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri following their tenure at PeopleSoft, the company develops software-as-a-service solutions that help organizations manage workforce and financial processes in a unified, cloud-native environment. Workday’s platform emphasizes continuous updates, data security, and a configurable architecture aimed at large and mid-sized enterprises.

The company’s product portfolio centers on Workday Human Capital Management and Workday Financial Management, with additional offerings for payroll, talent management, workforce planning and analytics.