Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Shares Up 8.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) shot up 8.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $145.83 and last traded at $147.2260. 1,029,373 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 5,055,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WDAY shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Workday from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Workday from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Workday in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Workday from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.80.

Workday Stock Up 8.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.90, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 earnings per share (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 company 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 was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Workday, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In other Workday news, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 2,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.62, for a total transaction of $391,795.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 266,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,258,644.56. This represents a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.74, for a total transaction of $14,699,550.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,364,400.26. The trade was a 50.58% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 875,020 shares of company stock worth $113,938,503 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 18.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Workday during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Workday in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Workday in the third quarter worth $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Workday during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Workday during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.