Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Given New $193.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Price target reduced: Stifel Nicolaus cut its price objective on Leidos from $205 to $193 and assigned a "hold," while the Street consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of about $198.55 amid multiple recent analyst target trims.
• Q1 beat and guidance lift: Leidos reported Q1 EPS of $3.13 (vs. $2.88 est.) and $4.4B revenue, and management raised FY2026 guidance to $12.10–$12.50 EPS with backlog roughly $48.4B, supporting medium‑term revenue visibility.
• Market reaction was negative—shares fell to $131.35—due to concerns over year‑over‑year GAAP profitability decline, Defense segment margin pressure and the view that the guidance raise was partly acquisition‑driven, prompting intraday selling and further analyst cuts.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $205.00 to $193.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 46.94% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on LDOS. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. 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. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Leidos from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $185.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $204.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leidos has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.55.

Leidos Stock Performance

Shares of LDOS stock traded down $5.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $131.35. 940,655 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,081,806. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $161.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.93. The company has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Leidos has a 12-month low of $129.35 and a 12-month high of $205.77.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 32.95%. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.100-12.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Leidos will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 49,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,855,799.28. The trade was a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 9.4% in the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 26,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,084,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 0.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 486,990 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $75,975,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter worth $28,445,000. Quartz Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.0% in the first quarter. Quartz Partners LLC now owns 32,027 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,981,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 37.7% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,934 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Leidos News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Leidos this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Leidos reported Q1 revenue of $4.4B and beat EPS estimates with non-GAAP EPS $3.13; management raised FY2026 guidance (EPS 12.10–12.50) — top-line strength and a higher guide are supportive for future cash flow expectations. Leidos Posts Strong First Quarter Results and Raises Full-Year Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Leidos raised its 2026 forecast citing strong demand for IT and intelligence services, which supports backlog growth and contract visibility. Defense contractor Leidos raises 2026 forecast on strong demand
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog expanded (~$48.4B) and the company highlighted key contract wins and scale in intelligence and infrastructure — a positive for medium-term revenue visibility. LDOS Q1 Earnings Beat on Backlog Scale and Key Contract Wins
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an upbeat earnings call; details and tone matter for execution but did not fully offset margin concerns. Leidos Holdings Earnings Call Signals Confident Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q1 earnings transcripts and coverage are available for investors parsing the details (useful for modeling margins and cash flow). Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: RBC lowered its price target from $215 to $180 (still outperform) — the cut narrows perceived upside and can pressure sentiment among target-driven investors. Royal Bank Of Canada lowers Leidos price target to $180
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction highlighted concerns: GAAP profitability declined y/y, Defense segment margins showed pressure, and analysts noted the guidance raise was largely acquisition-driven (Entrust-related costs also hit GAAP results). That drove intraday selling. Leidos falls 7.8% as investors parse Q1 margin pressure and acquisition-driven guidance raise

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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