Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 2.4% – What’s Next?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price was down 2.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $92.66 and last traded at $93.04. Approximately 2,826,731 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 4,418,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.25 and a 200 day moving average of $87.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.06 and a quick ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 715.75 and a beta of 1.12.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The company had revenue of $345.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.57, for a total value of $535,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 318,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,382,567.95. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 8,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.98, for a total value of $792,468.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,389.96. This represents a 46.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 550,763 shares of company stock worth $48,771,342 over the last 90 days. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $120,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,123 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,807,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,162,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $91,901,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.