Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT)’s stock price 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 changing hands.

The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Daktronics in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company.

Insider Transactions at Daktronics

In related news, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total value of $40,773.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,573 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,201.41. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were 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 owns 469,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,807,381.25. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Daktronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DAKT. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Daktronics in the third quarter valued at about $171,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Daktronics during the third quarter worth about $281,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Daktronics during the third quarter worth about $436,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Daktronics by 31.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 191,799 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 46,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Daktronics by 5.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 226,070 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 11,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.69% of the company’s stock.

Daktronics Trading Up 4.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $601.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.08, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.09.

About Daktronics

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.