Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price traded down 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $67.60 and last traded at $67.70. 4,407,317 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 4,403,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KTOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, JonesTrading began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 517.81 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.88. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $345.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $327.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott I. Anderson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.11, for a total value of $1,336,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 51,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,574,372.74. This trade represents a 22.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.78, for a total value of $307,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,672,038.06. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 375,500 shares of company stock worth $34,924,258. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors 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.