Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Receives "Neutral" Rating from Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler reiterated a “Neutral” rating on Workday and set a $145 price target, implying approximately 29.77% downside from the stock’s $206.45 opening price.
• Despite mixed analyst views, Workday has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $185.56; Robert W. Baird recently raised its target to $215 with an “Outperform” rating.
• Workday exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.66 in adjusted earnings per share versus the $2.51 consensus and $2.54 billion in revenue, up 13.5% year over year. Recent takeover reports involving Silver Lake have also contributed to significant stock volatility.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by analysts at Piper Sandler in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $145.00 price target on the software maker's stock. Piper Sandler's price target would suggest a potential downside of 29.77% from the stock's current price.

WDAY has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Workday from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Workday in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright set a $140.00 target price on Workday in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.56.

Workday Trading Up 17.8%

WDAY opened at $206.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Workday has a one year low of $110.36 and a one year high of $249.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.89.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Workday will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 2,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.62, for a total transaction of $391,795.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 266,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,258,644.56. This represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, insider Robert Enslin sold 5,374 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.90, for a total value of $724,952.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 239,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,304,368.10. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 sold 875,020 shares of company stock valued at $113,938,503 over the last quarter. Insiders own 18.64% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Workday

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDAY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Workday in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $448,804,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Workday by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 55,605 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $11,943,000 after purchasing an additional 15,903 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Workday in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,357,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Workday in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,045,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Workday by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 27,043 shares of the software maker's stock worth $5,808,000 after buying an additional 15,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company's stock.

More Workday News

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Silver Lake is reportedly considering acquiring Workday at a valuation of approximately $43 billion. A completed deal could provide shareholders with a significant premium and represents one of the largest software buyouts in history. However, the discussions remain ongoing and there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached. Silver Lake in talks to buy Workday, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts characterized the potential bid as an opportunity for private equity to invest in software companies pressured by artificial-intelligence concerns. Workday’s customer data, distribution network and established franchise were cited as advantages that could support long-term value creation. Silver Lake's Workday Buyout Talks Could Be the First SaaSpocalypse Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair analyst Patrick McIlwee reiterated a Buy rating, citing Workday’s oversold valuation, franchise quality and potential takeover upside. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Workday
• Neutral Sentiment: The takeover reports triggered unusually heavy volatility, including multiple temporary “limit up-limit down” trading pauses. The stock’s future direction will depend heavily on whether Silver Lake makes a formal offer and on the valuation and terms. Workday skyrockets before trading halted

About Workday

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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