Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on Leidos (NYSE:LDOS)

Stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $165.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 4.01% from the stock’s previous close.

LDOS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Leidos from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Leidos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Leidos from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Leidos from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Leidos in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.00.

Leidos Price Performance

NYSE:LDOS opened at $158.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $174.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.35. Leidos has a one year low of $128.32 and a one year high of $205.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The aerospace company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.19. Leidos had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 32.95%. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. Leidos’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Leidos has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.050-12.450 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Leidos will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In related news, insider Elizabeth A. Porter sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.21, for a total value of $576,630.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,575 shares in the company, valued at $7,414,500.75. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Leidos by 46.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,073 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leidos by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,151 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Leidos by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in Leidos by 42.5% during the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 16,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785 shares during the period. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leidos News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Leidos this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus upgraded Leidos to “Strong Buy,” signaling conviction from an independent analyst that supports upward momentum. Argus upgrade (via Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of Nova Scotia bought shares of LDOS, indicating institutional demand that can support the stock price. Bank of Nova Scotia purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Leidos with an “equal-weight” (hold) rating and a $165 price target — a modest ~4% upside from recent levels — which signals limited near-term upside according to their view and may cap gains. Wells Fargo initiation
• Neutral Sentiment: Market write-ups noted that LDOS outperformed the broader market in the latest session, reflecting the combined effect of analyst activity and the reported institutional buy. LDOS outperformance (Zacks)

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos is an American technology and engineering company that provides services and solutions to government and commercial customers, with a strong focus on national security, defense, intelligence, and civil government markets. The company delivers systems integration, engineering, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, cloud migration and managed IT services, as well as mission support for complex programs. Leidos’ work spans areas such as C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), secure communications, sensors and systems engineering, and health IT solutions for public-sector healthcare programs.

Leidos traces its corporate roots to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and emerged as an independent, publicly traded company following a corporate separation in 2013.