Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 4.6% After Insider Selling

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price was down 4.6% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $109.26 and last traded at $112.67. Approximately 3,741,818 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 4,496,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.06.

Specifically, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.97, for a total transaction of $755,790.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 341,631 shares in the company, valued at $36,885,899.07. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on KTOS. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 792.45 and a beta of 1.09.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.01 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 35,098 shares in the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,686,000 after acquiring an additional 41,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.