Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 2.4% – Time to Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price fell 2.4% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $33.35 and last traded at $33.91. 4,988,056 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 4,416,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KTOS shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 2.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.40 and a 200 day moving average of $61.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a current ratio of 5.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 282.58 and a beta of 1.18.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The aerospace company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 3.18%. The company had revenue of $471.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.25, for a total transaction of $1,676,125.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,516,813. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $97,391.81. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 61,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,989,395.12. This represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 73,013 shares of company stock valued at $4,041,582 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,930,588 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $295,867,000 after purchasing an additional 914,515 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,515,997 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $106,893,000 after purchasing an additional 164,607 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 26.7% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,032,469 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $86,766,000 after buying an additional 428,445 shares during the period. B&D White Capital Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 21,357.3% in the 3rd quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC now owns 1,823,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $77,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,520,000 after buying an additional 342,789 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is a defense technology company that develops products and services for U.S. government agencies, national security organizations, and allied governments. Its work spans unmanned systems, satellite communications, microwave electronics, command-and-control systems, and training and simulation. The company’s offerings include unmanned aerial vehicles and target drones, as well as systems and components used in space and satellite communications and other defense applications.