Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.92, but opened at $17.60. Daktronics shares last traded at $17.60, with a volume of 91,305 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Craig Hallum began coverage on Daktronics in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock.

Daktronics Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $821.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.09). Daktronics had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 3.62%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Daktronics, Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Daktronics news, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total value of $150,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 469,727 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,381.25. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total value of $40,773.48. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,573 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,201.41. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Progeny 3 Inc. lifted its stake in Daktronics by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,284,608 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,494,000 after purchasing an additional 489,700 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Daktronics by 20.3% in the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 2,493,605 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,786,000 after buying an additional 420,161 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Daktronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,101,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Daktronics by 76.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 451,873 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,834,000 after acquiring an additional 195,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Daktronics by 5,451.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 48,690 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 47,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.69% of the company’s stock.

About Daktronics

Daktronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays for sporting, commercial, and transportation applications in the United States and internationally. It operates through Commercial, Live Events, High School Park and Recreation, Transportation, and International segments.