Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) CFO Deanna Lund Sells 5,000 Shares

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) CFO Deanna Lund sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $389,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 243,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,950,438.85. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of KTOS traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,903,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,975,709. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a current ratio of 4.30. The company has a market capitalization of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 707.21 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.84. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.90 and a 52 week high of $112.57.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 1.56%.The business had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 21.4% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,552 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $640,000 after buying an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 35,098 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $791,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 51.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 687,989 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $20,426,000 after buying an additional 233,703 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jones Trading began coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.53.

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.