Piper Sandler Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY)

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAYGet Free Report)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by equities researchers at Piper Sandler in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $145.00 target price on the software maker’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 29.77% from the company’s current price.

WDAY has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut Workday from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. William Blair upgraded Workday to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Workday in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.56.

View Our Latest Analysis on Workday

Workday Trading Up 17.8%

NASDAQ 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $143.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.89. Workday has a 12 month low of $110.36 and a 12 month high of $249.85.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAYGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Workday will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Workday

In other Workday news, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 2,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.62, for a total value of $391,795.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 266,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,258,644.56. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.19, for a total transaction of $130,530.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 73,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,481,962.42. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 875,020 shares of company stock worth $113,938,503 over the last 90 days. 18.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDAY. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Workday in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Workday during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Workday during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Workday during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Workday during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Workday News Roundup

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

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY)

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