Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Sets New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week low — Leidos fell to about $137 (down ~7.8%) on heavy volume as investors reacted to GAAP margin pressure, one‑time acquisition/JV costs and reports of insider/institutional selling, with management saying the guidance lift was partly driven by the Entrust acquisition.
• Underlying results and outlook remain solid — The company beat Q1 estimates (revenue $4.40B, non‑GAAP EPS $3.13), reported a ~$48.4B backlog and raised FY‑2026 guidance to $12.10–12.50 EPS and $18.0–18.4B revenue, while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $202.82.

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $137.11 and last traded at $137.2690, with a volume of 2251087 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $148.81.

Key Leidos News

Here are the key news stories impacting Leidos this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised guidance — Leidos reported Q1 revenue of $4.40B and non‑GAAP EPS $3.13, topping estimates, and raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance to $12.10–12.50 and revenue to $18.0–18.4B. This underscores strong demand for its IT and intelligence services. Leidos Posts Strong First Quarter Results and Raises Full-Year Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and contract wins support growth — Management highlighted backlog (~$48.4B) and key contract wins across intelligence, energy infrastructure and ATC, providing revenue visibility beyond FY‑2026. LDOS Q1 Earnings Beat on Backlog Scale and Key Contract Wins
• Neutral Sentiment: Management tone confident on the call — Executives signaled a positive outlook and reiterated contract pipeline strength, but emphasized integration of recent deals. Read the call highlights/transcript for management detail. Leidos Holdings Earnings Call Signals Confident Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP results and margin pressure — GAAP net income and GAAP EPS fell (net income $335M, GAAP EPS $2.56) as one‑time acquisition and JV costs (~$39M tied to Entrust and a security products JV) and Defense segment margin declines weighed on profitability. Leidos falls 7.8% as investors parse Q1 margin pressure and acquisition-driven guidance raise
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance lift partly acquisition‑driven — Management said the FY‑2026 raise largely reflects the Entrust acquisition rather than a step‑up in organic performance, prompting “sell‑the‑news” pressure as investors parse quality of the upside. Defense contractor Leidos raises 2026 forecast on strong demand
• Negative Sentiment: Investor/insider activity and market reaction — Reports note insider selling and heavy institutional repositioning; combined with margin concerns, this contributed to today’s downside sentiment. Leidos falls 7.8% as investors parse Q1 margin pressure and acquisition-driven guidance raise

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LDOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Leidos in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Leidos from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $204.00 target price on Leidos in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.82.

Leidos Trading Down 7.8%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Leidos's payout ratio is presently 15.45%.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total value of $317,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,476 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,171 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 1.0% in the third quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 0.7% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 8,243 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 492 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leidos by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 517 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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