Short Interest in Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) Rises By 7.8%

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, an increase of 7.8% from the December 31st total of 1,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 478,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Daktronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DAKT opened at $16.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $766.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.92, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.16. Daktronics has a 1 year low of $7.20 and a 1 year high of $19.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 19.61%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Daktronics will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Daktronics in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Transactions at Daktronics

In other news, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total transaction of $150,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 469,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,807,381.25. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,201.41. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Daktronics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DAKT. Progeny 3 Inc. grew its position in shares of Daktronics by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,284,608 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,494,000 after buying an additional 489,700 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Daktronics during the third quarter valued at about $4,101,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Daktronics by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 451,873 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after buying an additional 195,830 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Daktronics by 5,451.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 48,690 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 47,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Daktronics by 31.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 191,799 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 46,104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.69% of the company’s stock.

Daktronics Company Profile

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.