Workday jumps 4.1% as traders position ahead of upcoming earnings and options expiration

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) is up 4.1% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears driven by positioning ahead of Workday’s next earnings report, with some additional lift potentially coming from options-related flows tied to today’s expiration. There was no single, widely confirmed company-specific headline that clearly explains the entire jump, so the catalyst looks more like a sentiment/positioning shift than a discrete news event.

Details:

Workday’s next earnings report is widely tracked for May 21, 2026, which can prompt pre-earnings buying, short covering, and rebalancing by investors in the days leading up to the release.

In its most recently released full-year results (fiscal Q4 and full year ended January 31, 2026), Workday highlighted year-over-year growth in subscription revenue backlog and disclosed significant share repurchases, which can support bullish views on cash generation and capital returns.

May 15, 2026 is a listed options expiration for WDAY contracts, which can amplify stock moves through dealer hedging and the unwinding of positions, especially when open interest is concentrated near popular strikes.

Workday also filed a Form 8-K in late April 2026, a reminder that investors may be monitoring incremental corporate updates ahead of earnings.

Sources:

Workday Investor Relations, TipRanks, SEC

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$WDAY Insider Trading Activity

$WDAY insiders have traded $WDAY stock on the open market 106 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 106 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $WDAY stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

DAVID A DUFFIELD has made 0 purchases and 80 sales selling 1,483,101 shares for an estimated $228,897,318.
ROBERT ENSLIN (President, CCO) has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 27,558 shares for an estimated $5,358,052.
GERRIT S KAZMAIER (President, Prod. and Tech.) has made 0 purchases and 8 sales selling 19,662 shares for an estimated $3,418,100.
ZANE ROWE (Chief Financial Officer) has made 0 purchases and 8 sales selling 12,000 shares for an estimated $2,021,806.
CARL M. ESCHENBACH (CEO) sold 3,125 shares for an estimated $656,250
MARK S. GARFIELD (Chief Accounting Officer) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 2,538 shares for an estimated $378,894.
RICHARD HARRY SAUER (Chief Legal Officer & Secty) sold 1,130 shares for an estimated $237,300

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

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$WDAY Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 461 institutional investors add shares of $WDAY stock to their portfolio, and 701 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

AUTO-OWNERS INSURANCE CO removed 10,183,016 shares (-99.5%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,318,395,081
JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC removed 3,344,111 shares (-66.6%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $432,962,051
FIRST EAGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC added 3,269,940 shares (+75.4%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $423,359,131
VANGUARD GROUP INC added 3,210,232 shares (+14.7%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $689,493,628
T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 2,024,956 shares (-50.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $434,920,049
CITIGROUP INC added 2,005,609 shares (+336.9%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $259,666,197
NEWLANDS MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS LLC removed 1,363,667 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $176,553,966

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$WDAY Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $WDAY stock 4 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 3 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $WDAY stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE GILBERT RAY CISNEROS, JR. has traded it 4 times. They made 3 purchases worth up to $45,000 on 03/13, 01/28, 12/10 and 1 sale worth up to $15,000 on 04/14.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API Congress trades endpoint.

$WDAY Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $WDAY in the last several months. We have seen 8 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

BTIG issued a "Buy" rating on 02/25/2026
Needham issued a "Buy" rating on 02/09/2026
RBC Capital issued a "Outperform" rating on 01/05/2026
Bernstein issued a "Outperform" rating on 11/26/2025
TD Cowen issued a "Buy" rating on 11/26/2025
JP Morgan issued a "Overweight" rating on 11/26/2025
Keybanc issued a "Overweight" rating on 11/26/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $WDAY, check out Quiver Quantitative's $WDAY forecast page.

$WDAY Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $WDAY recently. We have seen 28 analysts offer price targets for $WDAY in the last 6 months, with a median target of $195.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Steven Enders from Citigroup set a target price of $148.0 on 02/26/2026
Keith Weiss from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $185.0 on 02/25/2026
Allan Verkhovski from BTIG set a target price of $175.0 on 02/25/2026
Kirk Materne from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $160.0 on 02/25/2026
Billy Fitzsimmons from Piper Sandler set a target price of $135.0 on 02/25/2026
Scott Berg from Needham set a target price of $300.0 on 02/25/2026
John Difucci from Guggenheim set a target price of $275.0 on 02/25/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.