Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 4% Following Insider Selling

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares dropped 4% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $106.09 and last traded at $108.16. Approximately 3,333,001 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 4,461,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.67.

Specifically, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.97, for a total transaction of $755,790.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 341,631 shares in the company, valued at $36,885,899.07. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KTOS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jones Trading initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 3.68. The firm has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 792.45 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $90.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The firm had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Rovida Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,315,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $236,268,000 after buying an additional 1,162,577 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $91,901,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $37,475,000. 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.