Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 2% – Time to Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price was down 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $45.58 and last traded at $46.03. 5,595,562 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 4,564,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KTOS shares. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.0%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.50 and a 200-day moving average of $75.97. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 270.76 and a beta of 1.07.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total value of $1,788,716.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $456,480. This trade represents a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total transaction of $2,038,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 309,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,998,136.01. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 148,036 shares of company stock valued at $8,455,857 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $45,673,000 after acquiring an additional 427,396 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6,900.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 176,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,423,000 after purchasing an additional 174,305 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 34,973 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 714,083 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $54,206,000 after purchasing an additional 281,811 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $1,821,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.