Madison Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 96,659 Workday, Inc. $WDAY

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 96,659 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $11,833,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Workday during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,115,000. S&CO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Workday in the second quarter valued at about $2,284,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Workday in the second quarter valued at about $591,000. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its position in shares of Workday by 34.9% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 4,515 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Workday by 57.4% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 126,296 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $15,461,000 after buying an additional 46,051 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Workday News

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Workday launched Workday AI Research, a dedicated technical team focused on making enterprise AI more reliable, trustworthy, and efficient. The initiative targets challenges involving agent memory, collaboration, orchestration, and data deletion, potentially strengthening Workday’s competitive position in AI-powered HR, finance, and IT software. Workday Introduces AI Research Team
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a PhD fellowship and plans to contribute peer-reviewed research and evaluation methods to the broader AI community. Investors may view the effort as evidence that Workday is investing seriously in long-term AI product development rather than relying solely on third-party technology. Workday Introduces AI Research Team Dedicated to Advancing Reliable, Trustworthy, and Efficient Enterprise AI
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of the AI announcement described a sharp upward move in WDAY shares, indicating that the new research division was the primary immediate catalyst. Workday Stock Surges as Company Launches AI Research Division
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target from $140 to $205 but retained a Neutral rating, suggesting some additional valuation upside while signaling limited conviction at the stock’s elevated level. Bank of America Raises Workday Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment commentary highlighted potential for more than 30% margin expansion, while also warning that high valuations, concentrated demand, and aggressive AI investment assumptions create risks. Workday Margin Potential Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported interest from Silver Lake has fueled speculation about software-sector consolidation, but the potential transaction remains unconfirmed and could increase volatility. Analyst Lists Reasons Tech M&A May Accelerate
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG lowered Workday to Neutral, while Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold. Analysts cited valuation concerns and caution after the recent rally. BTIG Lowers Workday Rating Deutsche Bank Downgrades Workday

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robert Enslin sold 5,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.90, for a total value of $724,952.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 239,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,304,368.10. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 2,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was 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 $38,258,644.56. This represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 875,020 shares of company stock worth $113,938,503. 18.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Workday Stock Up 4.1%

WDAY stock opened at $198.42 on Thursday. Workday, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.36 and a fifty-two week high of $249.85. 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 $49.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.01, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $147.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.14.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Workday, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several 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. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Workday from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Workday from $140.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.17.

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.