Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Stock Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY)’s stock price passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $194.33 and traded as low as $190.49. Workday shares last traded at $192.90, with a volume of 2,034,894 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WDAY shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Workday from $200.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Lake Street Capital set a $205.00 price target on shares of Workday in a research note on Friday, August 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, August 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Workday from $216.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Workday from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Workday currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.10.

Workday Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $194.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.02.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The software maker reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.14. Workday had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 12.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Workday, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In related news, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 99,835 shares of Workday stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.55, for a total value of $18,724,054.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 105,049 shares in the company, valued at $19,701,939.95. This trade represents a 48.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 2,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.28, for a total transaction of $511,087.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 251,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,066,085.92. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 988,104 shares of company stock worth $188,811,574 in the last quarter. 18.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Workday

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kintegral Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Workday by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 10,893 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Workday by 55.9% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in Workday by 18.1% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 437 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Workday by 1.6% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,770 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Workday by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 481 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

About Workday

Workday, Inc develops cloud-based software for managing human resources, finance and business operations. Its products include Workday Human Capital Management, Workday Financial Management and Workday Adaptive Planning, which help organizations manage areas such as workforce administration, accounting, budgeting and forecasting.

Founded in 2005 by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri, Workday serves businesses, governments and educational institutions across a range of industries. Its operations and customer base extend across North America and international markets.

Carl Eschenbach is Workday’s chief executive officer, and co-founder Aneel Bhusri serves as executive chair.