Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Lowered to Hold Rating by TD Cowen

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) was downgraded by investment analysts at TD Cowen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. They currently have a $155.00 price objective on the software maker’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.02% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WDAY. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Workday from $204.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Workday in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Workday from $261.00 to $247.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Workday from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Workday in a report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.16.

Workday Stock Performance

Shares of WDAY opened at $130.23 on Wednesday. Workday has a 12-month low of $125.83 and a 12-month high of $281.00. The stock has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.72, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $184.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.51.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The software maker reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.15. Workday had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 10.50%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Workday will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Workday

In other news, insider Gerrit S. Kazmaier sold 3,759 shares of Workday stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.73, for a total value of $784,616.07. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,951,507.91. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder David A. Duffield sold 82,884 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.75, for a total transaction of $17,384,919.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,034,027.75. This trade represents a 44.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 370,321 shares of company stock worth $78,866,401. 20.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDAY. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Workday by 230.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,792 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Workday by 12.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,142 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Workday by 211.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Workday during the second quarter worth $281,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Workday by 8.6% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,738 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Key Workday News

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beats — Workday reported better‑than‑expected fiscal Q4 results: revenue and EPS topped consensus and subscription revenue grew year‑over‑year, underpinned by strong cash flow. Workday Q4 results press release
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst buy thesis remains for some — Needham reaffirmed a Buy and kept a $300 price target, arguing AI investments offer long‑term upside despite near‑term headwinds. Needham buy rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership/AI strategy — Workday has emphasized agentic AI as a growth driver and recently brought back a founder CEO, a strategic pivot that could help execution but adds uncertainty about near‑term priorities. CEO return and AI focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader software sell‑off — The pullback in software names and macro uncertainty amplified the reaction to Workday’s guidance, meaning market moves reflect sector trends as well as company specifics. Software sector pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance miss — Management forecast FY‑2027 subscription revenue below Street estimates (and guided for slower subscription growth), signaling weaker new‑client wins as corporate tech spend moderates. Revenue guidance below estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Margins and AI investment cost — Workday warned of margin pressure as it accelerates AI investments and guidance for adjusted operating income was cautious, pressuring investor sentiment about near‑term profitability. Margin outlook and AI costs
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reactions — Several brokers pared targets or downgraded WDAY (Jefferies, Mizuho among them); JPMorgan lowered its target too, increasing near‑term selling pressure. Jefferies cut Mizuho downgrade (summary) JPM price‑target move (summary)

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.