Analysts Set Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) PT at $179.80

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation, nineteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $182.1429.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WDAY. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Workday in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday. Bank of America initiated coverage on Workday in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on Workday from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $135.00 target price on Workday in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In related news, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,481,962.42. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.74, for a total transaction of $14,699,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,364,400.26. The trade was a 50.58% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 875,020 shares of company stock worth $113,938,503. Insiders own 18.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Workday by 230.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Workday by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,142 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Workday by 211.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Workday in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Workday by 32.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Key Workday News

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potential $43 billion takeout: Reuters reported that Silver Lake and Workday have held discussions in recent months regarding a possible acquisition. The prospect of a buyout at or above Workday’s roughly $43 billion market value fueled takeover speculation and drove heavy trading, including temporary volatility-related trading halts. Silver Lake in talks to buy Workday, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Buyout could revive software-sector interest: Coverage characterized the reported transaction as potentially one of the largest software buyouts in history. Investors are viewing a potential private-equity deal as a catalyst for Workday’s valuation and possibly broader interest in beaten-down enterprise software stocks. Workday’s stock sees a record surge. Could a buyout spark a software revival?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish: William Blair analyst Patrick McIlwee reiterated a Buy rating, citing what he considers an oversold valuation, the quality of Workday’s franchise and potential upside from a takeover. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Workday
• Neutral Sentiment: Deal remains unconfirmed: The discussions are reportedly ongoing, and sources cautioned that there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached. Workday’s rally therefore reflects speculation rather than a completed transaction. Exclusive-Silver Lake in talks to buy Workday, sources say

Workday Stock Performance

WDAY opened at $206.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.08. Workday has a 1-year low of $110.36 and a 1-year high of $249.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.89. 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 (NASDAQ:WDAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Workday will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.