Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America initiated coverage on Workday with a neutral rating and a $140 price target, implying about 10% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts have been mixed but generally constructive: recent moves included KeyCorp raising its target, Barclays upgrading the stock to buy, and consensus data showing a Moderate Buy rating with an average target of $185.03.
• Workday shares rose 2.6% to $127.30 after reporting quarterly results that beat EPS estimates and slightly topped revenue expectations, with revenue up 13.5% year over year.

Equities research analysts at Bank of America started coverage on shares of Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price target on the software maker's stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.98% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WDAY. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Workday from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upgraded shares of Workday from an "overweight" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Workday in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Workday in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Workday from $265.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Workday currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.03.

Workday Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ WDAY traded up $3.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.30. The company had a trading volume of 453,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,085,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.01. Workday has a twelve month low of $110.36 and a twelve month high of $257.09. The stock's 50 day moving average is $125.61 and its 200-day moving average is $167.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a PE ratio of 39.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.04.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.15. Workday had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 8.60%.The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Workday will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Workday

In other news, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of Workday stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.76, for a total value of $13,949,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 105,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,631,158.24. This trade represents a 50.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 9,356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total transaction of $1,201,216.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 165,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,193,850.86. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 989,814 shares of company stock worth $131,576,291. Corporate insiders own 18.64% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Workday

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDAY. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Workday in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Workday in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Workday in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Workday in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Workday during the third quarter worth $30,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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