Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 2.2% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) fell 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $87.20 and last traded at $87.53. 2,746,469 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 4,515,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.46.

Specifically, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.60, for a total transaction of $443,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 85,417 shares in the company, valued at $7,567,946.20. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KTOS. UBS Group assumed coverage on 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. KeyCorp increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $80.00 price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 673.36 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.70. The company has a current ratio of 4.06, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $345.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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.