Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the September 30th total of 2,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 473,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days. Currently, 6.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Daktronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DAKT traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 332,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 503,246. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Daktronics has a fifty-two week low of $7.20 and a fifty-two week high of $15.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $13.15 and its 200-day moving average is $12.59. The firm has a market cap of $601.96 million, a P/E ratio of 162.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.14.

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $226.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.84 million. Daktronics had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 19.92%. Equities analysts anticipate that Daktronics will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Matthew John Kurtenbach sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.28, for a total transaction of $204,512.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Matthew John Kurtenbach sold 15,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.28, for a total transaction of $204,512.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,200. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bradley T. Wiemann sold 25,000 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.89, for a total value of $322,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,398.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daktronics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Daktronics by 22.8% in the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 393,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after buying an additional 72,900 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Daktronics in the 1st quarter valued at $586,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Daktronics in the 1st quarter worth $687,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Daktronics by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,338,484 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,291,000 after acquiring an additional 41,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Progeny 3 Inc. raised its position in Daktronics by 140.0% during the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 1,794,908 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAKT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Singular Research upgraded shares of Daktronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th.

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.