Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Shares Down 10.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Leidos plunged 10.2% intraday to about $174.78 from a prior close of $194.72 on Wednesday, with mid-day volume of ~735,716 shares (down ~18% versus average).
• Analysts remain broadly positive—nine Buy vs. five Hold—giving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $213.09, with several firms (Citigroup, RBC, Cantor Fitzgerald) raising targets into the $225–$232 range.
• Large institutions have been adding exposure (notably Norges Bank and MIRAE), while an insider, Elizabeth Porter, sold 3,000 shares; institutional ownership is about 76.12% and insider ownership is 0.69%.

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) dropped 10.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $174.67 and last traded at $174.7750. Approximately 735,716 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 891,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LDOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Leidos in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Leidos from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.09.

Leidos Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.28. The company has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total transaction of $576,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,575 shares in the company, valued at $7,414,500.75. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Leidos during the fourth quarter worth $318,839,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Leidos in the third quarter valued at $242,464,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Leidos by 64.4% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,529,261 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $241,256,000 after buying an additional 598,974 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Leidos by 2,924.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 405,181 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $73,095,000 after buying an additional 391,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 663.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 355,824 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $64,191,000 after buying an additional 309,206 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leidos Company Profile

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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