Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $145.00 to $190.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the software maker’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 1.84% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Workday in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Workday from $206.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Workday from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.81.

Workday Price Performance

WDAY stock opened at $193.57 on Friday. Workday has a 52 week low of $110.36 and a 52 week high of $249.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The software maker reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.14. Workday had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Workday will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Workday news, insider Robert Enslin sold 5,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 239,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,304,368.10. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.04, for a total transaction of $13,119,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,820,179.96. This trade represents 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. Insiders have sold 875,020 shares of company stock valued at $113,938,503 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 18.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Workday

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDAY. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Workday by 11,770.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,907,426 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $4,518,207,000 after buying an additional 36,596,516 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Workday by 25,412.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 10,230,616 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,197,332,000 after acquiring an additional 10,190,516 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Workday by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,770,707 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,098,552,000 after acquiring an additional 96,139 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Workday by 47.5% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,842,491 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,406,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Workday by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,091,926 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,089,970,000 after buying an additional 75,922 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Workday

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Workday reported fiscal Q2 adjusted EPS of $2.75, above the roughly $2.61–$2.62 consensus, while revenue reached $2.649 billion, slightly exceeding estimates and increasing 12.8% year over year. Workday Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Subscription revenue climbed 13.9% to $2.471 billion. Management also said AI-related offerings represented more than 25% of new contract value, reinforcing the company’s positioning in enterprise AI for HR, finance and IT. Workday Fiscal 2027 Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability was a major strength: net income reportedly rose to $632 million from $228 million a year earlier, while operating profit increased 26.2%. Workday also authorized an additional $4 billion share repurchase, which could support per-share results and signal confidence in cash generation. Workday Reports Higher Profit and Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity raised its price target to $225, adding to bullish sentiment following the earnings beat. Canaccord Raises Workday Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s outlook broadly met expectations and targets at least two points of non-GAAP margin expansion, but investors are watching whether AI adoption can offset slower growth in the coming years. Workday Signals Future Growth and Margin Targets
• Negative Sentiment: Workday’s projected subscription-revenue growth near 11% for fiscal 2028 implies continued deceleration from current levels, raising valuation concerns for a stock trading at a premium earnings multiple. Workday Outlook Despite AI Demand
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity was heavily weighted toward selling, including substantial sales by founder David Duffield. While such transactions may be planned, they can weigh on investor sentiment.

Workday Company Profile

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.