Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price dropped 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $46.08 and last traded at $46.16. Approximately 2,988,255 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 4,331,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $105.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 271.53 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a current ratio of 5.54.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The firm had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total value of $329,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 295,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,909,005.60. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Deanna Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total transaction of $264,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 285,405 shares in the company, valued at $15,083,654.25. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 389,188 shares of company stock worth $24,294,682. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Vision Retirement LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% in the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 61.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense and commercial applications. The company primarily serves the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies, while also supporting allied governments and selected commercial customers.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and ground systems, target drones, tactical drones, satellite communications systems, space-related products, missile defense technology, hypersonic and high-speed systems, radar and command-and-control solutions, and microwave electronics.