William Blair analyst Justin Furby says he learned from Workday (WDAY) partners that the company recently signed a human resources deal with one of the world's largest employers. The contract, with a retailer employing over 2M people globally, represents the largest company Workday has ever signed "by far," Furby tells investors in a research note. The client is more than five times larger on a headcount basis than any of Workday's existing HR customers, the analyst adds. The company competed against incumbent SAP (SAP), and the retailer will pursue a phased deployment over the next three to four years, Furbry says. He believes a deal of this size could represent $30M or more of annual subscription revenue. Furby also learned of a 70,000-plus employee real estate firm and a 50,000-plus employee pharmaceutical firm that recently closed with Workday, as well as "several large enterprise opportunities" in pipeline that could close in the coming weeks. Workday shares remain one of the analyst's favorite ideas this year and over the longer term, and he recommends using current levels as a long-term buying opportunity. Furby has an Outperform rating on Workday, which is up 72c to $75.07 in pre-market trading.

Berenberg raised the firm's price target on SAP to EUR 195 from EUR 190 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares.

HSBC raised the firm's price target on SAP to EUR 200 from EUR 180 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's Q1 report was "solid even if not spectacular" as it sees continued strong momentum, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says SAP's long-term revenue growth prospects are supported by a shift to cloud combined with monetization of its artificial intelligence opportunity.

Barclays lowered the firm's price target on SAP to $210 from $212 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q1 report. SAP is well positioned for artificial intelligence, but the near-term financial impact is likely to be limited, while any restructuring creep should drive further EBIT upside, files to sell common stock, no amount given