Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $147.35 and last traded at $154.56, with a volume of 9162608 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $162.92.

Key Stories Impacting Workday

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham keeps a Buy and $300 target, saying the CEO move points to renewed AI‑driven product focus and long‑term upside — a bullish take that supports buying the dip for investors focused on AI exposure. Workday: CEO Transition to Co‑Founder Signals AI‑Driven Innovation and Long‑Term Growth Upside
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair reiterates Buy, calling the pullback a “buyable dip” because fundamentals and the company’s outlook remain intact — a constructive view for value‑oriented investors. Workday: CEO Transition Creates a Buyable Dip Amid Intact Fundamentals and Reaffirmed Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Workday publicly reaffirmed its fiscal Q4 and full‑year fiscal 2026 outlook alongside the leadership change, which reduces near‑term earnings surprise risk. Workday Announces CEO Transition as Co-Founder Aneel Bhusri Returns to Lead the Company’s Next Chapter
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel keeps a Hold, flagging execution risk around the transition and potential FY27 guidance uncertainty — a reminder there’s disagreement on how quickly management can re‑accelerate growth. Workday: CEO Transition, Execution Uncertainty, and FY27 Guidance Risks Justify Cautious Hold Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators view the sudden CEO change as a negative signal about sales continuity and leadership stability, citing loss of a CEO known for strong customer relationships — a likely driver of the intra‑day selloff. Workday’s stock falls as CEO change sounds like ‘really bad news’ to this analyst
• Negative Sentiment: Workforce restructuring and related impairment charges disclosed earlier this week add another near‑term headwind to sentiment and could weigh on margins in the period ahead. Workday Announces Workforce Restructuring and Related Impairment Charges

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Workday in a report on Monday, January 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Workday from $304.00 to $298.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Workday from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Macquarie Infrastructure reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Workday from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.18.

Workday Trading Down 5.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market cap of $40.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.40.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The software maker reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.15. Workday had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 10.50%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Workday, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard Harry Sauer sold 1,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $237,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,398 shares in the company, valued at $17,933,580. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 3,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.73, for a total value of $784,616.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 105,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,951,507.91. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 370,321 shares of company stock worth $78,866,401. 20.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Workday

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Workday by 1.0% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,381 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Workday by 2.8% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finivi Inc. boosted its holdings in Workday by 3.3% during the third quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 1,516 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Workday by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Workday by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 458 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.