Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAKT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Singular Research upgraded Daktronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Daktronics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $890.23 million, a P/E ratio of 76.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.42.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. Daktronics had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The company had revenue of $226.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.84 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Daktronics, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Matthew John Kurtenbach sold 15,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.28, for a total value of $204,512.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,200. This trade represents a 86.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bradley T. Wiemann sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.89, for a total transaction of $322,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,398.94. The trade was a 22.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daktronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DAKT. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Daktronics by 140.0% in the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 1,794,908 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,039,000 after buying an additional 1,047,156 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC raised its holdings 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 in the third quarter valued at about $4,101,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 195,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $12,134,000 after buying an additional 187,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.