Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Leonardo DRS’s price target from $44 to $45 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 21.51% upside from the stock’s $37.03 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target price of $51.50; individual targets range from $45 to $53.
• Leonardo DRS exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.46 in EPS versus a $0.35 consensus estimate and $1.07 billion in revenue, up 11% year over year.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $44.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 21.51% from the company's current price.

DRS has been the subject of several other research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Leonardo DRS in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Leonardo DRS from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Leonardo DRS from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Leonardo DRS in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Leonardo DRS in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Leonardo DRS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DRS traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $37.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 367,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,088,439. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $36.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.18. Leonardo DRS has a fifty-two week low of $32.43 and a fifty-two week high of $50.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.11. Leonardo DRS had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 9.40%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Leonardo DRS will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leonardo DRS

In other Leonardo DRS news, EVP Jason Rinsky sold 3,864 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.81, for a total value of $177,009.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,581 shares in the company, valued at $1,080,245.61. The trade was a 14.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Michael Dippold sold 20,317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.18, for a total transaction of $755,386.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,306,616.74. The trade was a 36.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leonardo DRS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Leonardo DRS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,883,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Leonardo DRS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,705,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,857,000. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,153,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Leonardo DRS during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,687,000. 18.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leonardo DRS Company Profile

Leonardo DRS, Inc is a defense technology company that develops and supplies advanced products and systems for the U.S. military and government customers, as well as allied nations. The company operates as a subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. and focuses on technologies used in land, sea, air and space-related defense applications.

Its offerings include sensing and surveillance systems, electro-optical and infrared technologies, radar and electronic warfare products, network computing and communications systems, counter-uncrewed aircraft systems, force protection equipment, and naval power and propulsion systems.

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