Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) CFO Sells $348,150.00 in Stock

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) CFO Deanna Lund sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.63, for a total transaction of $348,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 300,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,893,804.47. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KTOS remained flat at $67.31 during mid-day trading on Friday. 4,343,393 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,947,955. The firm has a market cap of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 517.81 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.06 and a quick ratio of 3.46. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.78 and a 52-week high of $134.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.85.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $120,966,000 after buying an additional 1,573,123 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $104,807,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $91,901,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $280,402,000 after buying an additional 698,778 shares in the last quarter. 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.