Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 6% – Here’s Why

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price dropped 6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $49.76 and last traded at $50.34. Approximately 3,615,823 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 4,598,861 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.41.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.92 and a 200-day moving average of $77.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 285.75 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total value of $2,038,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 309,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,998,136.01. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,417 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $411,150.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 75,123 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,835.70. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 157,453 shares of company stock valued at $9,264,423 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $120,966,000 after buying an additional 1,573,123 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $104,807,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,398,525 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $106,162,000 after buying an additional 556,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,458,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $110,683,000 after buying an additional 476,049 shares in the last quarter. 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.