Workday stock jumps as Q1 results and outlook highlight resilient subscription demand

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) is up 13.4% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to Workday’s fiscal 2027 first-quarter earnings update, which showed solid subscription growth, improving profitability, and upbeat commentary around enterprise demand for its AI-enabled HR and finance platform. Investors also seemed to react positively to strength in subscription backlog and the company’s ongoing share repurchases.

Details:

Workday posted fiscal 2027 Q1 results showing total revenue growth and subscription revenue growth year over year, alongside adjusted profitability that topped expectations.

The company disclosed higher subscription revenue backlog metrics, signaling sustained customer commitments and improving visibility into future subscription revenue.

Management highlighted momentum around AI-related product positioning, which may have reduced investor concerns about near-term competitive disruption in enterprise applications.

Workday also reported continued share repurchases, which can support sentiment by signaling confidence and reducing share count over time.

Sources:

Workday Newsroom, Investing.com, StockAnalysis

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.

$WDAY Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 481 institutional investors add shares of $WDAY stock to their portfolio, and 723 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
HOTCHKIS & WILEY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC added 3,898,261 shares (+57.7%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $504,707,851
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
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC added 2,614,558 shares (+196.6%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $338,506,824
JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC added 2,525,821 shares (+101.4%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $542,495,834
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

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 4 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 1 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Wells Fargo issued a "Overweight" rating on 05/22/2026
BWG Global issued a "Negative" rating on 05/15/2026
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

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 25 analysts offer price targets for $WDAY in the last 6 months, with a median target of $180.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Kash Rangan from Goldman Sachs set a target price of $151.0 on 05/26/2026
Brent Thill from Jefferies set a target price of $140.0 on 05/22/2026
Karl Keirstead from UBS set a target price of $140.0 on 05/22/2026
Michael Turrin from Wells Fargo set a target price of $185.0 on 05/22/2026
Jason Celino from Keybanc set a target price of $158.0 on 05/22/2026
Steven Enders from Citigroup set a target price of $139.0 on 05/22/2026
Scott Berg from Needham set a target price of $180.0 on 05/22/2026

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.