Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price traded down 1.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $46.44 and last traded at $48.64. Approximately 2,433,211 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 4,483,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Truist Financial upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 271.59 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.61.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total transaction of $329,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 295,120 shares in the company, valued at $13,909,005.60. This trade represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $264,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 285,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,083,654.25. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 144,036 shares of company stock worth $8,110,167 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.