Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) Stock Price Up 4.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Daktronics' stock price rose by 4.8% during mid-day trading, reaching a last traded price of $23.27, following a previous close of $22.21.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded Daktronics from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $26.00.
• The company's recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.33, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.24 and also beating revenue estimates with $218.97 million for the quarter.

Shares of Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT - Get Free Report) shot up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $23.23 and last traded at $23.27. 198,051 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 425,139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.21.

Separately, Zacks Research raised shares of Daktronics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Insider Activity

In other Daktronics news, insider Sheila Mae Anderson sold 3,839 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.86, for a total transaction of $64,725.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $665,885.70. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Patrick Friel sold 13,479 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.58, for a total value of $317,834.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 74,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,747,136.52. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daktronics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Daktronics by 204.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,046 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares during the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Daktronics by 200.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Daktronics by 66.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,897 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in Daktronics in the second quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Daktronics in the second quarter worth $79,000. Institutional investors own 61.69% of the company's stock.

Daktronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.94.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 10th. The technology company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $218.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.90 million. Daktronics had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 14.64%. As a group, analysts predict that Daktronics, Inc. will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.