Investors can expect a company’s stock to rise or fall based on the buying and selling of stock by its insiders. Darden Restaurants, Inc shares valued at $480,954 were sold by Wilkerson John W. on Jan 16 ’26. At $213.00 per share, Wilkerson John W. sold 2,258 shares. The insider’s holdings dropped to 17,784 shares worth approximately $3.69 million following the completion of this transaction.
Also, Vennam Rajesh sold 6,774 shares, netting a total of over 1,450,419 in proceeds. Following the sale of shares at $214.12 each, the insider now holds 9,040 shares.
Before that, JOHN WILKERSON had added 2,258 shares to its account. In a trade valued at $480,954, the Officer bought Darden Restaurants, Inc shares for $213.00 each.
As published in a research note from Raymond James on January 21, 2026, Darden Restaurants, Inc [DRI] has been rated down from an Outperform to a Mkt perform. Analysts at Truist downgraded the stock from ‘”a Buy”‘ to ‘”a Hold”‘ outlook in a report released in early January. As of October 28, 2025, Mizuho has initiated its “Neutral” rating for DRI. Earlier on October 20, 2025, Goldman upgraded its rating. Their new recommendation was “a Buy” for DRI stock which previously was a “a Neutral”.
Analyzing DRI Stock Performance
On last trading session, Darden Restaurants, Inc [NYSE: DRI] plunged -0.74% to $207.34. The stock’s lowest price that day was $204.195, but it reached a high of $209.17 in the same session. During the last five days, there has been a surge of approximately 0.38%. Over the course of the year, Darden Restaurants, Inc shares have jumped approximately 14.08%.
Is Darden Restaurants, Inc subject to short interest?
Stocks of Darden Restaurants, Inc saw a sharp rise in short interest on 2025-12-31 jumping by 1.42 million shares to 5.39 million. Data from Yahoo Finance shows that the short interest on 2025-11-28 was 3.97 million shares. A jump of 26.33% in short interest reflects a negative sentiment towards the stock. Despite the fact that short shares comprise just 3.11 of the overall float, the days-to-cover ratio (short ratio) jumped to 3.11.
Which companies own the most shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc (DRI)?
In terms of Darden Restaurants, Inc share price expectations, FactSet research, analysts set an average price target of 222.5 in the next 12 months, up nearly 6.52% from the previous closing price of $208.88. Analysts anticipate Darden Restaurants, Inc stock to reach 236 by 2026, with the lowest price target being 195. In spite of this, 26 analysts ranked Darden Restaurants, Inc stock as Buy at the end of 2026. On July 14, 2025, Melius assigned a price target of “a Hold” to the stock and initiated coverage with a $240.
