Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) CEO Sells $16,106,000.00 in Stock

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) CEO Eric Demarco sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.53, for a total transaction of $16,106,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 796,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,120,965.61. This represents a 20.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of KTOS opened at $79.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 612.51 and a beta of 1.14. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.90 and a 52 week high of $112.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.1% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,888 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $266,000. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 130,697 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 77,422 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,299,000 after acquiring an additional 3,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2,000.5% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 34,722 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 33,069 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial increased their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. B. Riley downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $72.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.