Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $14.33, but opened at $11.05. Daktronics shares last traded at $11.84, with a volume of 314,457 shares.

The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.09). Daktronics had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 3.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Daktronics in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity at Daktronics

In other Daktronics news, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total transaction of $150,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 469,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,807,381.25. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total transaction of $40,773.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,201.41. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daktronics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Daktronics by 75.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,297 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Daktronics by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,192 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Daktronics in the third quarter valued at about $75,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Daktronics in the fourth quarter valued at about $125,000. Finally, Knott David M Jr bought a new position in Daktronics during the fourth quarter worth about $132,000. 61.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Daktronics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $574.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.11.

Daktronics Company Profile

Daktronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays for sporting, commercial, and transportation applications in the United States and internationally. It operates through Commercial, Live Events, High School Park and Recreation, Transportation, and International segments.