Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $37.80 and last traded at $38.8620, with a volume of 77,115 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KTOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, October 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.20.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 233.06 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.81 and its 200 day moving average is $53.89.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total transaction of $393,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 288,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,180,313.76. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scot Jarvis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total value of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,135,310.50. This represents a 13.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 382,013 shares of company stock valued at $23,856,842 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,515,997 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $106,893,000 after acquiring an additional 164,607 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $53,746,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,520,000 after purchasing an additional 342,789 shares during the period. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $51,338,000. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,842,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology and defense contractor that develops systems and products for national security applications. The company supports the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, national security-related organizations and selected commercial customers, with an emphasis on affordable, rapidly deployable technologies.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and target systems, hypersonic and high-speed systems, rocket and propulsion technologies, satellite communications equipment, microwave electronics, radar and missile-defense systems, electronic warfare solutions, command-and-control systems, and virtual and live training products.