Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price dropped 5.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $47.78 and last traded at $47.95. Approximately 3,536,710 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 4,348,165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.35.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $59.02 and its 200-day moving average is $78.76. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 275.52 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total transaction of $318,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 290,161 shares in the company, valued at $18,494,862.14. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 70,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,146,642.72. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 187,278 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,048. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth about $119,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 38,490 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,163 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 143.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankChampaign National Association bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $276,000. 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.