Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Workday shares gapped up ahead of trading, opening at $128.76 after closing at $122.42, and were last up about 6.2% on the session.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $184, though some firms still rate it neutral or hold.
• Workday recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates and slightly topping revenue expectations, with revenue up 13.5% year over year.

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $122.42, but opened at $128.76. Workday shares last traded at $127.7870, with a volume of 528,361 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDAY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Workday in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Workday in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright set a $140.00 price target on Workday in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Workday in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $184.00.

Workday Trading Up 6.2%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.09.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Workday, Inc. will post 5.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In other Workday news, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.60, for a total transaction of $12,427,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,143,664.40. This trade represents a 50.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 Workday stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.22, for a total transaction of $769,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 217,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,942,984.60. The trade was a 2.68% 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 774,814 shares of company stock worth $98,324,391 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 18.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Workday by 230.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Workday by 12.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,142 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,602,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Workday by 211.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the software maker's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Workday during the second quarter worth about $281,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Workday by 32.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,597 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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