Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 4.8% Following Insider Selling

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) was down 4.8% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $101.63 and last traded at $103.01. Approximately 3,641,869 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 4,419,868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.16.

Specifically, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.28, for a total value of $591,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 100,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,322.76. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,885,899.07. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KTOS. Jones Trading started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 792.45 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.49. The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The company 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 193.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.