Royal Bank Of Canada Lowers Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Price Target to $180.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target on Leidos from $215 to $180 while keeping an "outperform" rating, a level the firm says implies roughly a 38.8% upside from the stock's current price.
• Leidos beat Q1 expectations with non‑GAAP EPS of $3.13 (versus $2.88 est.) and $4.40B revenue, and raised FY‑26 guidance to EPS $12.10–12.50 and revenue $18.0–18.4B, but GAAP profitability slipped amid acquisition costs and timing issues that pressured margins.
• Shares fell to $129.68 on the news; analyst coverage is mixed but the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of about $199.64, and institutions hold roughly 76% of the stock.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $215.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective suggests a potential upside of 38.80% from the company's current price.

LDOS has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Leidos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $218.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.64.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of Leidos stock traded down $7.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $129.68. The stock had a trading volume of 641,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,078,642. The stock's 50 day moving average is $161.74 and its 200 day moving average is $178.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.56. Leidos has a twelve month low of $129.74 and a twelve month high of $205.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The aerospace company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.25. Leidos had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 32.95%. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. The company's 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. Equities analysts expect that Leidos will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leidos

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,855,799.28. This trade represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. 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

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Leidos by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,022,359 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,086,434,000 after buying an additional 217,141 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $646,463,000 after buying an additional 4,131,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Leidos by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,488 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $636,097,000 after buying an additional 64,909 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Leidos by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,411,312 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $455,642,000 after buying an additional 145,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Leidos by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,221,518 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $419,778,000 after buying an additional 39,378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.12% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Leidos

Here are the key news stories impacting Leidos this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beat on both top and bottom lines — Q1 revenue $4.40B (≈+4% y/y) and non‑GAAP EPS $3.13 topped Street estimates, showing core revenue growth and EPS expansion. Leidos Posts Strong First Quarter Results and Raises Full-Year Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY‑26 guidance (EPS range 12.10–12.50; revenue $18.0–18.4B), signaling management confidence in demand for IT and intelligence services. Defense contractor Leidos raises 2026 forecast on strong demand
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and contract wins underpin revenue visibility — backlog reported near $48B with strength in intelligence, energy infrastructure and air traffic control work. LDOS Q1 Earnings Beat on Backlog Scale and Key Contract Wins
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call tone was described as confident, but management flagged acquisition costs and segment timing items — read the transcript for details. Leidos Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthy cash flow and non‑GAAP metrics: adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow were reported positive, supporting the raised outlook but requiring reconciliation to GAAP results. Leidos (LDOS) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP profitability slipped — Q1 GAAP net income and GAAP EPS fell (management cited ~$39M of Entrust‑related and JV costs), which reduced reported margins despite higher non‑GAAP EPS. Leidos falls 7.8% as investors parse Q1 margin pressure and acquisition-driven guidance raise
• Negative Sentiment: Defense‑segment margin pressure from program wind‑downs and timing on a fixed‑price development program prompted investor concern about near‑term margins. Leidos falls 7.8% as investors parse Q1 margin pressure and acquisition-driven guidance raise
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors view the guidance raise as acquisition‑driven (Entrust) rather than an organic margin step‑up; coupled with recent insider sales and large, mixed institutional moves, this likely amplified the sell‑off. 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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