Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Leidos was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from hold to buy, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop that now shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $193.64.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.13 EPS versus the expected $2.88 and revenue of $4.40 billion, with sales up 3.7% year over year.
• Leidos stock was trading at $126.11, well below its 12-month high of $205.77, while insiders have recently sold shares and institutional investors continue to hold the majority of the stock.

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LDOS. Argus upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Leidos from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Leidos from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.64.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS stock opened at $126.11 on Friday. Leidos has a 12 month low of $121.20 and a 12 month high of $205.77. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.34. The stock has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leidos news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.78, for a total transaction of $317,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 49,476 shares in the company, valued at $7,855,799.28. This represents a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 1,484 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total value of $197,001.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,345,686.75. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leidos

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 20.1% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 339,972 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $64,241,000 after buying an additional 56,905 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 43.8% in the third quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 63,211 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $11,944,000 after buying an additional 19,268 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2,924.4% in the fourth 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. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,621,000. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 120.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 11,900 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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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