Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Stock

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $190.00 to $215.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the software maker’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.14% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright set a $140.00 price objective on Workday in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. DA Davidson set a $135.00 target price on shares of Workday in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Workday currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.56.

Workday Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDAY opened at $206.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.08. Workday has a fifty-two week low of $110.36 and a fifty-two week high of $249.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Workday had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 8.60%.The company’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Workday will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Workday

In related news, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 107,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.74, for a total transaction of $14,699,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,364,400.26. The trade was a 50.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Robert Enslin sold 5,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.90, for a total value of $724,952.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 239,469 shares in the company, valued at $32,304,368.10. The trade was a 2.19% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 875,020 shares of company stock valued at $113,938,503. Insiders own 18.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Workday

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDAY. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Workday during the second quarter worth $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Workday during the third quarter worth about $26,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Workday in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Workday in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Workday in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Workday

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Silver Lake is reportedly considering acquiring Workday at a valuation of approximately $43 billion. A completed deal could provide shareholders with a significant premium and represents one of the largest software buyouts in history. However, the discussions remain ongoing and there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached. Silver Lake in talks to buy Workday, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts characterized the potential bid as an opportunity for private equity to invest in software companies pressured by artificial-intelligence concerns. Workday’s customer data, distribution network and established franchise were cited as advantages that could support long-term value creation. Silver Lake’s Workday Buyout Talks Could Be the First SaaSpocalypse Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair analyst Patrick McIlwee reiterated a Buy rating, citing Workday’s oversold valuation, franchise quality and potential takeover upside. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Workday
• Neutral Sentiment: The takeover reports triggered unusually heavy volatility, including multiple temporary “limit up-limit down” trading pauses. The stock’s future direction will depend heavily on whether Silver Lake makes a formal offer and on the valuation and terms. Workday skyrockets before trading halted

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.