Insider Selling: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Director Sells 5,417 Shares of Stock

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Director Scot Jarvis sold 5,417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $411,150.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 75,123 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,835.70. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ KTOS traded down $3.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.99. 7,150,775 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,288,156. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.17 and its 200-day moving average is $87.34. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.48 and a 12-month high of $134.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 546.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 4.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The firm had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Truist Financial set a $135.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JonesTrading assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.28.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.