Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Director Scot Jarvis Sells 10,000 Shares

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Director Scot Jarvis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,135,310.50. This trade represents a 13.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 7.2%

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $56.18 on Friday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.09 and a 1 year high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a current ratio of 5.54. The company has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 330.47 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.85.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The company had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KTOS. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.47.

Trending Headlines about Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos received multi-million-dollar orders through its Orbit subsidiary for GAIA 100 tri-band satellite ground-station systems. The orders support demand for the company’s space communications and tracking technologies. Kratos Receives Multi-Million-Dollar Orders for GAIA 100 Tri-Band Ground Station Systems
• Positive Sentiment: Recent second-quarter results remained strong, with revenue up 30.5% year over year to $458.8 million and EPS of $0.21, above the $0.14 consensus estimate. Growth was broad-based across government solutions, defense rocket support, turbine technology and microwave products. Kratos: A Production Powerhouse That No Longer Feels Speculative
• Neutral Sentiment: Kratos’ backlog, capacity expansion and exposure to unmanned systems, hypersonics and satellite communications support its long-term growth outlook. However, investors are demanding continued execution and margin improvement, while the stock’s elevated earnings multiple leaves limited room for disappointment.
• Neutral Sentiment: China reportedly asked the United States to remove new tariffs on drones and related components. The development highlights ongoing trade-policy uncertainty for defense and drone companies, although its direct effect on Kratos is unclear. China Reportedly Presses U.S. to Scrap Drone Tariffs
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders have reported numerous sales and no open-market purchases over the past six months. Recent transactions included Phillip Carrai’s sale of 26,500 shares and SVP Marie Mendoza’s sale of 1,513 shares. Both were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their value as discretionary bearish signals, but the selling can still weigh on sentiment. Kratos Insider Selling
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional positioning was mixed in the latest quarter, with more funds reducing positions than adding shares. Large reductions by BlackRock, Franklin Resources and other managers may reinforce short-term selling pressure.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,698 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,918 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,945 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 37,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.