Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 3.8% – What’s Next?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares traded down 3.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $88.64 and last traded at $88.96. 3,248,813 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 4,620,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KTOS. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $79.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial set a $135.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 4.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.40. The firm has a market cap of $16.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 687.38 and a beta of 1.12.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $345.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.51 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.28, for a total value of $456,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 270,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,650,894.24. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 5,758 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total value of $525,475.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,086 shares in the company, valued at $372,888.36. The trade was a 58.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 574,731 shares of company stock valued at $50,506,306 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 57.7% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,673 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,732,000 after acquiring an additional 26,946 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,828,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $19,048,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $21,013,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $17,922,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.