Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 6.2% – Should You Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price fell 6.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $85.02 and last traded at $87.7290. 2,979,609 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 4,140,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KTOS shares. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, January 12th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Jones Trading started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 674.89 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total value of $1,934,148.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,487 shares in the company, valued at $3,092,092.38. The trade was a 38.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.09, for a total value of $14,818,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,196,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,629,199.33. The trade was a 14.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 916,815 shares of company stock worth $75,023,021 over the last 90 days. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Rovida Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $82,315,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,807,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $236,268,000 after buying an additional 1,162,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $91,901,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.