Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $998.86 EPS

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The aerospace company reported $999.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $998.86, Zacks reports. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS traded down $1.77 on Monday, hitting $94.31. 3,216,951 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,949,803. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.40. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a twelve month low of $23.90 and a twelve month high of $134.00. The firm has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 725.52 and a beta of 1.09.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total transaction of $2,222,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,952.80. This represents a 9.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.80, for a total value of $2,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $699,230.40. This represents a 76.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 911,907 shares of company stock valued at $74,908,183. 2.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $278,331,000 after buying an additional 209,189 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,072,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $189,383,000 after acquiring an additional 247,652 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $120,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,094,884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $50,857,000 after acquiring an additional 406,895 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $79.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, November 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.83.

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.