Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Insider Sells $610,826.05 in Stock

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) insider Stacey Rock sold 8,549 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.45, for a total value of $610,826.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,163,720.35. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 5.6%

Shares of KTOS stock opened at $75.39 on Monday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.90 and a 1 year high of $112.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 579.97 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a current ratio of 4.30.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $236,268,000 after buying an additional 1,162,577 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.2% during the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,507,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $209,382,000 after acquiring an additional 818,104 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,949,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $183,490,000 after acquiring an additional 301,135 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $278,331,000 after purchasing an additional 209,189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KTOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. B. Riley downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $78.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.53.

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.