Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Stock Price Up 7.2% – Still a Buy?

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY)’s share price shot up 7.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $137.38 and last traded at $139.4120. 963,283 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 5,079,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.01.

Key Workday News

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Workday announced an expanded strategic partnership with Google Cloud to bring AI agents for HR and finance into employees’ daily workflows, including availability of Workday’s Sana Self-Service Agent in Gemini Enterprise. This reinforces Workday’s push into AI-powered enterprise automation and could support future product demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors also responded favorably to Workday’s Q1 results, where revenue and profitability improved and management highlighted strong momentum in its core business and rapid adoption of AI agent solutions. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive overall, with several articles noting Wall Street’s moderate optimism and high potential upside versus current levels, which may be helping sentiment after a difficult year for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America reinstated Workday with a Neutral rating and a $140 price target, saying the company remains a high-quality franchise but faces fewer near-term catalysts as growth matures. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Workday also launched new AI tools aimed at easing FP&A workflows, and third-party coverage continued to frame the stock as a top momentum/value idea, adding to the broader bullish narrative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts warned that AI could pressure Workday’s per-seat pricing model over time, creating a potential margin and revenue risk if customers demand more value for lower cost. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WDAY. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $216.00 price target on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Workday to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Workday from $265.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America began coverage on Workday in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.03.

Workday Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $37.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.32 and a 200 day moving average of $165.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Workday had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 8.60%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Workday, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In other Workday news, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 9,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total transaction of $1,201,216.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 165,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,193,850.86. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.76, for a total value of $13,949,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,631,158.24. This trade represents a 50.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lavelle Capital LP purchased a new stake in Workday during the first quarter valued at about $928,000. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its position in Workday by 10.7% during the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 15,010 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Workday during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas grew its position in Workday by 5.7% during the first quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 7,019 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its position in Workday by 6.2% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 2,206 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

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.