Workiva (NYSE:WK) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Workiva shares jumped 2.7%, opening at $73.11 versus a prior close of $69.63, before trading near $71.97.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: Workiva has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $87 price target, with ratings including one Strong Buy, nine Buys and one Sell.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.77 in EPS versus $0.64 expected and $255.29 million in revenue, up 18.6% year over year. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the stock, while an executive recently sold nearly $499,000 worth of shares.

Workiva Inc. (NYSE:WK - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $69.63, but opened at $73.11. Workiva shares last traded at $71.97, with a volume of 414,294 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Workiva from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. UBS Group set a $70.00 target price on Workiva in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research set a $85.00 price target on shares of Workiva in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Workiva in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Workiva from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.00.

Workiva Trading Up 2.7%

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $70.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.94. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.88 and a beta of 0.53.

Workiva (NYSE:WK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.13. Workiva had a negative return on equity of 140.17% and a net margin of 4.87%.The company had revenue of $255.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $251.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Workiva's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Workiva has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.380-3.390 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.790-0.820 EPS. Analysts predict that Workiva Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brandon Ziegler sold 6,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.97, for a total transaction of $499,198.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 126,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,588,629.52. This represents a 4.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Workiva

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Workiva by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,109,646 shares of the software maker's stock worth $66,168,000 after buying an additional 520,839 shares in the last quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Workiva during the first quarter worth about $65,091,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Workiva by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,247,400 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $60,511,000 after purchasing an additional 655,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Workiva during the fourth quarter valued at $53,375,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Workiva by 16.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 862,936 shares of the software maker's stock worth $51,457,000 after purchasing an additional 121,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Workiva Company Profile

Workiva Inc is a cloud-based software company that helps organizations manage complex reporting, compliance and operational processes. Its platform connects data from multiple sources, enabling users to prepare, review and distribute financial reports, regulatory filings, management reports and other business documents through a collaborative digital environment.

The company's products support financial reporting, environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, risk management, internal controls, audit management and regulatory compliance.

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