Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the December 15th total of 1,290,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 478,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Daktronics

In other news, CEO Reece A. Kurtenbach sold 8,048 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 469,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,381.25. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Patrick Friel sold 2,244 shares of Daktronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.17, for a total value of $40,773.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,201.41. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Daktronics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Daktronics by 75.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,297 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Daktronics by 92.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,309 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Daktronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new stake in shares of Daktronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $164,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Daktronics during the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. 61.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Daktronics Stock Performance

DAKT opened at $16.64 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.70. The company has a market capitalization of $781.91 million, a PE ratio of 66.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.17. Daktronics has a 1 year low of $7.20 and a 1 year high of $19.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Daktronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

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.