Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $141.60 and traded as high as $145.14. Leidos shares last traded at $142.81, with a volume of 952,306 shares.

Key Leidos News

Here are the key news stories impacting Leidos this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Leidos reportedly secured additional Pentagon contracts, reinforcing the company’s defense and government-services backlog. The accompanying analysis said fair value remains higher, suggesting potential upside. Leidos Holdings Lands Pentagon Deals
• Positive Sentiment: The board raised Leidos’ quarterly cash dividend 4.7% to $0.45 per share from $0.43, supporting the stock’s income appeal and signaling confidence in cash generation. Leidos Increases Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital assigned Leidos a Buy rating, while the average analyst price target was reported at $150.85—above the roughly $143 trading level—providing a positive valuation signal. Leidos Gets a Buy from RBC Capital Leidos Average Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: The stock crossed above its 200-day moving average, a technical development that can attract momentum-oriented buyers and improve market sentiment. Leidos Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average
• Neutral Sentiment: Leidos gained even as the broader market declined, indicating relative strength, although the report primarily describes the trading move rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Why the Market Dipped but Leidos Gained
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming third-quarter results could benefit from defense demand, contract wins and artificial-intelligence initiatives, but healthcare pressure and higher interest costs remain risks. Leidos Q3 Earnings Preview

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on LDOS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Leidos from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $165.00 price objective on Leidos in a report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Leidos from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Leidos in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.85.

Leidos Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.35. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.81% and a net margin of 7.80%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Leidos announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buy back 20,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gary May sold 1,000 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $140,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,233.40. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel B. Geer sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total transaction of $1,406,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,820,980.84. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Leidos during the second quarter worth $1,024,436,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Leidos by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,277,845 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $646,430,000 after purchasing an additional 161,407 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Leidos by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,859,616 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $289,193,000 after buying an additional 47,542 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Leidos by 16.8% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,004,347 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $103,418,000 after purchasing an additional 144,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Leidos by 30.5% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 567,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $88,273,000 after buying an additional 132,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

About Leidos

Leidos Holdings, Inc (NYSE: LDOS) is a technology, engineering and science company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers. Its work supports defense, intelligence, civil government, health and transportation missions, with offerings that include information technology modernization, systems integration, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, engineering and mission operations.

The company also provides health technology and scientific services, transportation management systems, aviation and security solutions, and support for complex government programs.