Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 2.3% After Insider Selling

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) were down 2.3% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $58.75 and last traded at $60.56. 2,837,032 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 4,455,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.99.

Specifically, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $97,391.81. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 61,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,989,395.12. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 26,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.25, for a total transaction of $1,676,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,516,813. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total value of $19,299,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 761,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,995,786.56. This represents a 28.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KTOS. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.47.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.77 and a 200 day moving average of $66.85. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 336.29 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 35,098 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,686,000 after buying an additional 41,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.