Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 2.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price was down 2.1% during mid-day trading on Monday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $75.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions traded as low as $39.68 and last traded at $40.23. Approximately 3,379,911 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 4,350,273 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.09.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on KTOS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “negative” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, October 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $88.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.65.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 26,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider owned 182,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,516,813. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total transaction of $393,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 288,111 shares in the company, valued at $16,180,313.76. This trade represents a 2.37% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 377,013 shares of company stock valued at $23,564,182. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. B&D White Capital Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 21,357.3% in the third quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC now owns 1,823,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $77,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,370 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 40,086 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after buying an additional 2,952 shares during the last quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC now owns 6,235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 128.9% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 69,093 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.1%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 236.65 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.76.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.