Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday. The company traded as low as $37.80 and last traded at $38.8620, with a volume of 77,115 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $135.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.20.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.54 and a quick ratio of 4.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 233.06 and a beta of 1.11.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total transaction of $393,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 288,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,180,313.76. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Deanna Lund sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.78, for a total value of $341,460.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,341,866.58. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 382,013 shares of company stock worth $23,856,842. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,515,997 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $106,893,000 after buying an additional 164,607 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $74,520,000 after acquiring an additional 342,789 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,746,000. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at $51,338,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 570,631 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,234,000 after buying an additional 142,000 shares during 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 is a technology and defense contractor that develops systems and products for national security applications. The company supports the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, national security-related organizations and selected commercial customers, with an emphasis on affordable, rapidly deployable technologies.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and target systems, hypersonic and high-speed systems, rocket and propulsion technologies, satellite communications equipment, microwave electronics, radar and missile-defense systems, electronic warfare solutions, command-and-control systems, and virtual and live training products.