Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) were down 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $75.80 and last traded at $75.98. Approximately 1,270,275 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 3,425,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KTOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas set a $80.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $78.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.53.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 1.9%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.18. The firm has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 584.51 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 1.56%.The company had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $455,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 198,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,103,205.42. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 8,549 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.45, for a total value of $610,826.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,163,720.35. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 665,711 shares of company stock worth $51,213,845. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.