Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 4.6% on Insider Selling

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price traded down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $109.26 and last traded at $112.67. 3,741,818 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 4,496,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.06.

Specifically, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.97, for a total transaction of $755,790.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 341,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,885,899.07. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KTOS shares. BNP Paribas Exane set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 4.8%

The firm has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 792.45 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.91 and a 200 day moving average of $80.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position 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 valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 35,098 shares in the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,686,000 after purchasing an additional 41,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.