DA Davidson Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Stock

Key Points

• DA Davidson raised Workday’s price target from $135 to $190 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying roughly 2.85% downside from the reported $195.58 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but the consensus remains Hold, with an average price target of $201.51; other firms’ targets range from $205 to $230, including several Buy or Outperform ratings.
• Workday beat quarterly expectations with $2.75 adjusted EPS and $2.65 billion in revenue, up 12.8% year over year, but its forward revenue guidance fell below consensus, raising concerns about slowing growth.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at DA Davidson from $135.00 to $190.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the software maker's stock. DA Davidson's price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.85% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Capital One Financial set a $219.00 target price on Workday and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Workday from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Workday from $158.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Workday from $140.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Workday from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Workday has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $201.51.

Workday Stock Performance

Shares of Workday stock traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $195.58. 874,774 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,065,768. Workday has a 12 month low of $110.36 and a 12 month high of $249.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $48.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The software maker reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.64 billion. Workday had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 8.60%.Workday's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Workday will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In other news, insider Robert Enslin sold 5,374 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Sunday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.90, for a total transaction of $724,952.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 239,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,304,368.10. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. Also, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 105,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,820,179.96. This represents a 50.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 875,020 shares of company stock worth $113,938,503. 18.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Workday

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDAY. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its holdings in shares of Workday by 1.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 3,263 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Workday by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Workday by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 24,798 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $5,326,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Workday by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 2,054 shares of the software maker's stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Workday by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 280 shares of the software maker's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Workday News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Workday reported fiscal Q2 revenue of $2.649 billion, up 12.8% year over year and slightly above estimates, while adjusted EPS of $2.75 exceeded the $2.61 consensus. Net income increased to $632 million from $228 million a year earlier. Workday fiscal 2027 second-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Subscription revenue rose 13.9% to $2.471 billion, and the company said AI-related offerings accounted for more than 25% of new contract value, supporting the narrative that AI adoption is accelerating demand. Workday earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Workday’s board authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program, which could support earnings per share and signal confidence in the company’s long-term value. Workday expands share buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms raised their targets following the results: BMO and Needham moved to $230, Canaccord to $225, KeyCorp to $215, and Monness Crespi & Hardt to $218. The firms maintain positive ratings, including outperform, overweight or buy.
• Neutral Sentiment: Workday’s longer-term outlook calls for approximately 11% subscription-revenue growth in fiscal 2028 and at least two percentage points of non-GAAP margin expansion, indicating continued growth but a slower pace than recent results. Workday fiscal 2028 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s fiscal 2027 revenue outlook of $9.9 billion to $10.0 billion and third-quarter outlook of about $2.5 billion are below consensus estimates of $10.7 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively. This raised concerns about slowing growth and the possibility of another “guide down.” Reuters Workday outlook report
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Cantor Fitzgerald cut its target to $205, while Piper Sandler raised its target only to $190 and retained a neutral rating—below the referenced $193.57 share price.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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