Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Willdan Group's stock price experienced a significant increase, opening at $115.42 after closing at $111.11, and currently trades at $116.11 with a volume of 195,867 shares.
• Analysts are positive about Willdan Group's potential, with Wedbush raising their price target to $120.00 and Zacks upgrading the stock to a strong-buy rating.
• Insider trading activity shows a 23.67% reduction in ownership for Director Cynthia Downes and a 9.73% decrease for CFO Creighton K. Early, amidst significant stock sales by insiders totaling $18.1 million over the last 90 days.

Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $111.11, but opened at $115.42. Willdan Group shares last traded at $116.11, with a volume of 195,867 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLDN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Willdan Group from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Willdan Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willdan Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $111.50.

Willdan Group Trading Up 3.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 47.93 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $82.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Insider Transactions at Willdan Group

In other news, Director Cynthia Downes sold 2,763 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.43, for a total value of $302,355.09. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $974,911.87. The trade was a 23.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Creighton K. Early sold 7,764 shares of Willdan Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $904,816.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 72,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,399,154.34. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 178,823 shares of company stock valued at $18,081,688. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Willdan Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 774,212 shares of the construction company's stock worth $31,526,000 after purchasing an additional 22,227 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 432,135 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,460,000 after purchasing an additional 51,003 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 419,319 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,972,000 after purchasing an additional 49,217 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 10.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 336,752 shares of the construction company's stock worth $21,054,000 after purchasing an additional 31,561 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the second quarter worth about $20,188,000. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services.

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