Workday's (WDAY) "Hold" Rating Reaffirmed at Freedom Broker

Key Points

• Freedom Broker reaffirmed Workday’s “Hold” rating but raised its price target from $180 to $200, implying about 2% downside from the prior close. Analysts’ consensus remains “Hold,” with an average target of $206.
• Workday beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $2.75 versus $2.61 expected and revenue of $2.65 billion, up 12.8% year over year. AI products generated more than one-quarter of new contract value, while management raised subscription-revenue and margin expectations and authorized a $4 billion buyback.
• Despite strong quarterly results and AI momentum, the company’s fiscal 2027 revenue outlook of approximately $9.9 billion to $10.0 billion fell below the roughly $10.7 billion consensus, prompting some analysts to maintain cautious ratings or reduce targets.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by research analysts at Freedom Broker in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $200.00 price objective on the software maker's stock, up from their previous price objective of $180.00. Freedom Broker's price target suggests a potential downside of 2.01% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Workday from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Workday from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Workday from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Workday from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Workday from $206.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Workday presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $206.00.

Workday Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDAY traded up $10.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $204.11. The stock had a trading volume of 6,569,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,099,931. The company has a market capitalization of $50.42 billion, a PE ratio of 63.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.36. Workday has a 1 year low of $110.36 and a 1 year high of $249.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Insider Transactions at Workday

In related news, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.04, for a total value of $13,119,300.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Zane Rowe sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.70, for a total transaction of $862,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 288,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,451,702. The trade was a 2.04% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 875,020 shares of company stock worth $113,938,503 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 18.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Workday

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Workday by 11,770.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,907,426 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,518,207,000 after acquiring an additional 36,596,516 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Workday in the second quarter valued at $2,178,000. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Workday by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,751 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Workday in the 2nd quarter valued at $499,000. Finally, Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Workday by 84.2% during the 2nd quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC now owns 6,571 shares of the software maker's stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 3,003 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company's stock.

Workday News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Workday reported adjusted earnings of $2.75 per share, above the $2.61 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $2.649 billion, slightly exceeding estimates. Total revenue increased 12.8% year over year, and subscription revenue rose 13.9% to $2.471 billion. Workday fiscal 2027 second-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: AI products accounted for more than one-quarter of new contract value during the quarter, signaling growing demand for Workday’s AI agents and supporting the view that AI adoption can accelerate subscription growth. AI products and new contract value
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year subscription revenue outlook and increased its margin expectations, while authorizing a $4 billion share-repurchase program. Analysts highlighted stronger profitability, subscription growth and AI momentum; Monness raised its price target to $218 with a Buy rating, while BMO, Needham and KeyCorp also increased targets. Monness price target increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer said the results do not indicate a broad SaaS-sector meltdown, reinforcing investor confidence in enterprise software demand. Jim Cramer on Workday results
• Negative Sentiment: Workday’s fiscal 2027 total revenue outlook of approximately $9.9 billion to $10.0 billion was below the roughly $10.7 billion consensus estimate. The reduced outlook raised concerns about slower growth and the possibility of another guidance reduction, leading TD Cowen, Cantor Fitzgerald, Piper Sandler and DA Davidson to maintain cautious ratings or lower targets.

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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