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

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) CFO Deanna Lund sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.87, for a total transaction of $484,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 274,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,637,603.21. This trade represents a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $12.04 on Wednesday, hitting $91.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,622,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,355,792. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 702.59 and a beta of 1.09. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $23.90 and a one year high of $134.00.

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 business had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $236,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162,577 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.2% during the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,507,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $209,382,000 after acquiring an additional 818,104 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,949,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $183,490,000 after purchasing an additional 301,135 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,331,000 after purchasing an additional 209,189 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on KTOS. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.28.

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.