Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,987,717 shares, an increase of 34.0% from the January 29th total of 9,690,274 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,697,856 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 6.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 6.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,697,856 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Workday Stock Down 3.8%

Workday stock opened at $133.76 on Monday. Workday has a fifty-two week low of $117.76 and a fifty-two week high of $276.00. The company has a market cap of $35.18 billion, a PE ratio of 51.85, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.79.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The software maker reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.15. Workday had a return on equity of 13.37% and a net margin of 7.26%.The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. Workday’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Workday will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Workday

In other news, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 3,759 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.73, for a total transaction of $784,616.07. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,951,507.91. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Zane Rowe sold 6,000 shares of Workday stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $1,252,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 159,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,224,232.50. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 370,321 shares of company stock worth $78,866,401. Insiders own 19.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Workday by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,009,288 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,371,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210,232 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Workday by 101.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,017,905 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,077,537,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,821 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Workday in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $556,252,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Workday during the 4th quarter worth approximately $448,804,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Workday by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,842,491 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,406,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp cut Workday from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Workday from $265.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Workday from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Workday from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Workday presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.19.

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.