Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Shares Up 19.4% – Here’s What Happened

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY)’s stock price traded up 19.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $227.49 and last traded at $209.3430. 5,655,865 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 5,025,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.29.

Trending Headlines about Workday

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Private-equity firm Silver Lake is reportedly in discussions to acquire Workday in a potential transaction valued at roughly $43 billion. Analysts said a deal could provide a significant premium, with one estimate placing Workday’s takeover value at $240–$250 per share. However, the discussions remain preliminary, and there is no assurance that an agreement will be reached. Silver Lake in talks to buy Workday, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors said a potential Workday buyout could restore confidence in beaten-down software valuations and encourage broader software mergers and acquisitions. The transaction may signal that private-equity firms still see durable value in enterprise software despite concerns about artificial-intelligence disruption. Workday buyout may restore confidence in battered software valuations
• Positive Sentiment: Workday recently reported quarterly revenue of $2.54 billion, up 13.5% year over year, while earnings exceeded analyst expectations. The company also maintained fiscal 2027 subscription-revenue guidance of $9.925 billion to $9.950 billion, supporting the view that the underlying business remains stable.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed: Baird raised its target to $215 and maintained an outperform rating, while BMO reiterated a Buy rating with a $182 target. Piper Sandler reaffirmed Neutral with a $145 target, highlighting substantial disagreement over Workday’s standalone valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: With no definitive deal announcement or regulatory filing confirming terms, traders appear to be taking profits and reducing expectations that a transaction will close soon. Reported insider activity is also heavily weighted toward sales, including substantial selling by David Duffield, adding a cautionary signal.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on WDAY shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Workday from $150.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $216.00 target price on shares of Workday in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Workday in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Workday from $140.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Workday from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.36.

Workday Stock Down 3.8%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The software maker reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.15. Workday had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 8.60%.The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Workday, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Zane Rowe sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.70, for a total transaction of $862,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 288,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,451,702. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.74, for a total transaction of $14,699,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,049 shares in the company, valued at $14,364,400.26. The trade was a 50.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 875,020 shares of company stock valued at $113,938,503 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 18.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Workday

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDAY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Workday by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,009,288 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,371,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,210,232 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Workday by 25,412.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 10,230,616 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,197,332,000 after purchasing an additional 10,190,516 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Workday by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,770,707 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,098,552,000 after purchasing an additional 96,139 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Workday by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,842,491 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,406,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Workday by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,091,926 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,089,970,000 after purchasing an additional 75,922 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.