Workday Experiences Surge in Call Options Activity

On a recent Friday, cloud-based financial management and human capital management software company Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) saw a significant spike in market activity as stock traders showed a marked interest in call options for the company's shares. A total of 12,503 call options were acquired, surpassing the usual volume by 62% — a notable deviation from the average of 7,735 call options.

Market Analysts Share Their Perspectives

Several Wall Street analysts have weighed in on Workday's stock prospects with varied opinions. KeyCorp raised their price target from $310.00 to $330.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating. Similarly, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target from $260.00 to $300.00 with an "overweight" rating as well. TheStreet also improved Workday's rating from "c" to a "b-". Conversely, UBS Group lowered their price objective from $315.00 to $300.00 and issued a "neutral" rating. Barclays slightly decreased their target price from $326.00 to $316.00, yet kept an "overweight" rating. Overall, the consensus among analysts is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $293.61.

Review of Workday's Stock Performance

Workday's stock commenced at $291.92 on that eventful Friday, situated within its 12-month range of $174.06 to $311.28. The company holds a market capitalization of $76.77 billion and exhibits a P/E ratio of 56.68, a P/E/G ratio of 7.10, and a beta of 1.35. Its 50-day moving average is $288.81 with a two-hundred day moving average of $254.33. The company's financials show a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of the same value, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Recently, Workday announced their quarterly earnings, resulting in an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, which surpassed the consensus estimate of $1.47. The quarterly revenue matched the anticipated $1.92 billion, marking a 16.8% increase year-over-year. The net margin stood at 19.02%, and the return on equity at 5.22%. Analysts project an EPS of 1.83 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Workday

In related developments, major Workday shareholder David A. Duffield sold 108,333 shares, with the transactions resulting in a total of nearly $30 million. Post these sales, Duffield still holds over 1.1 million shares valued at more than $311 million. Other insider sales included 408 shares by Douglas A. Robinson, resulting in over $100 thousand. In total, insiders sold 389,485 shares valued at nearly $107 million in the past quarter. Currently, insiders own 21.09% of the company's stock.

Investor Movements in Workday

Several large investors have adjusted their stakes in Workday. New positions and increases in shareholdings were reported among various investment advisors and funds, with a noticeable uptick in the overall institutional investment reaching 68.46% of the company's stock.

About Workday

Workday, Inc serves both domestic and international markets with enterprise cloud applications that assist organizations in managing business operations and obtaining insightful financial and operational data. The company's suite of financial management applications includes a wide range of services to fortify financial consolidation and support finance operations in various aspects.

Workday, Options, Stocks