Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 4% Following Insider Selling

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price was down 4% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $106.09 and last traded at $108.16. Approximately 3,333,001 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 4,461,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.67.

Specifically, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.97, for a total value of $755,790.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 341,631 shares in the company, valued at $36,885,899.07. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on KTOS. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jones Trading initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 832.06 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 3.68.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 193.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.