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

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.33, but opened at $17.50. Daktronics shares last traded at $19.32, with a volume of 444,929 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DAKT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Singular Research raised shares of Daktronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th.

Daktronics Stock Up 13.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market cap of $857.75 million, a P/E ratio of 241.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.38.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $226.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.84 million. Daktronics had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 1.29%. Research analysts anticipate that Daktronics, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Daktronics

In other Daktronics news, VP Matthew John Kurtenbach sold 15,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.28, for a total value of $204,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,500 shares in the company, valued at $33,200. This trade represents a 86.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley T. Wiemann sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.89, for a total transaction of $322,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,398.94. This represents a 22.64 % 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

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DAKT. Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Daktronics by 20.3% during 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Daktronics by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,338,484 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,291,000 after acquiring an additional 41,076 shares during the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Daktronics by 27.3% during the third quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,284,608 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,494,000 after purchasing an additional 489,700 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Daktronics by 27.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 869,837 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 187,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP raised its stake in Daktronics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 485,811 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. 61.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.