Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Leidos from a buy to a hold, adding to a mixed analyst outlook. The stock now carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $187.50.
• Leidos reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.13 per share beating expectations and revenue of $4.40 billion topping forecasts. The company also raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to 12.10-12.50.
• The shares were trading at $124.65, near their 12-month low of $121.20 and well below the 200-day moving average of $168.60. Recent filings also showed insider selling by both an executive and a director.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $215.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Leidos from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.50.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock opened at $124.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm's 50 day moving average is $141.29 and its 200 day moving average is $168.60. Leidos has a 12 month low of $121.20 and a 12 month high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 31.92%. Leidos's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total transaction of $317,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 49,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,855,799.28. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total transaction of $197,001.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,686.75. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,022,359 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,086,434,000 after purchasing an additional 217,141 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 16,475.4% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,156,784 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $646,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131,706 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,488 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $636,097,000 after purchasing an additional 64,909 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,411,312 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $455,642,000 after purchasing an additional 145,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,926,646 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $364,059,000 after purchasing an additional 397,385 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

About Leidos

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos' work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.

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