Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT)’s stock 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Daktronics in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Daktronics Trading Up 4.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market cap of $828.13 million, a P/E ratio of 70.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.73.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). Daktronics had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 19.61%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Daktronics, Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Daktronics

In related news, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total transaction of $150,900.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 87,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,201.41. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daktronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duquesne Family Office LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 420,161 shares during the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 489,700 shares during the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP boosted its position in Daktronics by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 485,811 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,777,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Daktronics by 76.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 451,873 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,834,000 after purchasing an additional 195,830 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Daktronics during the third quarter worth about $4,101,000. 61.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.