Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Shares Up 4.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) were up 4.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $135.93 and last traded at $134.7740. Approximately 825,916 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,991,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.88.

Key Workday News

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Workday said it will keep expanding its workforce in India and deepen AI investments, signaling continued commitment to growth in a major global talent hub and to products that could support long-term demand. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Workday partnered with Anthropic and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation to launch an AI-focused Foundation Solopreneurship Accelerator Program, reinforcing its AI strategy and brand positioning in emerging use cases. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to Workday’s fiscal Q1 2027 results on May 21, with expectations for healthy revenue growth driven by demand for HCM, finance, and AI-powered products. Upcoming earnings could be the next major catalyst for the stock. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating on Workday and set a $175 price target, but the broader analyst backdrop remains mixed as some firms stay cautious on the software sector. Benzinga article
• Negative Sentiment: Citi reportedly cut Workday to Neutral, highlighting ongoing Wall Street skepticism after the stock’s large pullback over the past year and concerns that AI may reshape parts of the SaaS model. TheStreet article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WDAY shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Workday from $200.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Workday in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Loop Capital set a $210.00 price target on Workday in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Workday from $204.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Workday from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Workday presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.71.

Workday Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.18, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $127.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.86.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The software maker reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.15. Workday had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Workday, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In related news, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.76, for a total transaction of $13,949,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 105,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,631,158.24. This represents a 50.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 9,356 shares of Workday stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total transaction of $1,201,216.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 165,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,193,850.86. This trade represents a 5.36% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 989,814 shares of company stock valued at $131,576,291 over the last quarter. Insiders own 18.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Workday

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDAY. Finivi Inc. increased its holdings in Workday by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its stake in shares of Workday by 1.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 3,263 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Workday by 5.1% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Workday by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,928 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Workday by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

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.