Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares dropped 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $75.80 and last traded at $75.98. Approximately 1,270,275 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 3,425,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $72.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $78.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.53.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.9%

The stock has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a PE ratio of 584.51 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.18. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The business had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.01 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott I. Anderson sold 15,401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.51, for a total transaction of $1,147,528.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 66,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,942,546.34. This represents a 18.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 30,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total value of $2,222,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 273,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,952.80. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 665,711 shares of company stock valued at $51,213,845. 2.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.