Workday up 5% after quarterly earnings, leads software sector gains
BUZZ-Workday up 5% after quarterly earnings, leads software sector gains ** Shares of finance and human resources software company Workday WDAY.O up ~5% at $203.76 after quarterly results, leading gains on the S&P 500 software & services index .SPLRCIS
** WDAY reports Q2 revenue of $2.65 billion, beating estimates of $2.64 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.75 vs expectation of $2.61, as per LSEG-compiled data
** Software stocks have been hit by investor fears over AI competition, but WDAY said it won business by embedding AI into its products
** Of 43 analysts tracking the stock, eight rate it "strong buy", 13 "buy", 20 "hold" and two "sell"; their median PT is $215
** After upbeat quarterly results, several brokerages hike PTs on WDAY; D.A. Davidson raised to $190 from $135, Morgan Stanley to $180 from $145 and RBC to $240 from $220
** Including session's moves, WDAY down ~5% YTD vs a ~2.6% rise in the S&P 500 software & services index and a ~13.6% gain in the Nasdaq
(Reporting by Sinead Carew)