Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) CFO Sells 5,000 Shares

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) CFO Deanna Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $264,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 285,405 shares in the company, valued at $15,083,654.25. The trade was a 1.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 4.4%

NASDAQ KTOS traded up $2.31 on Thursday, hitting $55.35. 6,700,834 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,618,605. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.81 and a 52-week high of $134.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 325.59 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.97.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 35,098 shares in the last quarter. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,686,000 after purchasing an additional 41,265 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos won an approximate $36 million sole-source contract for a new air defense missile system, boosting backlog and revenue visibility.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage with Outperform and an $85 price target, signaling optimism about Kratos’ role in U.S. defense spending.
• Positive Sentiment: Kratos became the exclusive U.S. manufacturer for Elroy Air and signed an initial JV agreement with Barq Group, expanding growth opportunities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary linking KTOS to the proposed Golden Dome program is reinforcing expectations for long-term defense demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong results from AeroVironment lifted sentiment across defense names, including Kratos. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which is worth watching but does not appear to signal a major change in fundamentals. Article Title

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.