Key Points
- Major shareholder David Duffield sold 94,961 Workday shares at an average price of $199.29, generating approximately $18.9 million. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced his direct stake by 47.48% to 105,049 shares.
- Workday reported quarterly results above expectations, with adjusted EPS of $2.75 versus the $2.61 consensus and revenue of $2.65 billion. Revenue increased 12.8% year over year, while the stock opened at $206.92, up 3.0%.
- Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: 20 analysts rate the stock Buy, 17 Hold and two Sell, producing an overall “Hold” consensus and an average price target of $206.34. Institutional investors own approximately 89.81% of Workday’s shares.
Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) major shareholder David Duffield sold 94,961 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.29, for a total value of $18,924,777.69. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,935,215.21. The trade was a 47.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.
Workday Trading Up 3.0%
NASDAQ WDAY opened at $206.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08. Workday, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.36 and a fifty-two week high of $249.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.
Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The software maker reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.64 billion. Workday had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 12.32%.The business's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Workday, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Workday from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Workday from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Workday from $182.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Workday from $220.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Workday from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Workday presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $206.34.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WDAY
Institutional Trading of Workday
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDAY. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Workday during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,115,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Workday in the 4th quarter worth approximately $448,804,000. S&CO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Workday in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,284,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Workday by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 55,605 shares of the software maker's stock worth $11,943,000 after buying an additional 15,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new position in shares of Workday in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,357,000. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company's stock.
Workday Company Profile
(
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

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