Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 2.4% After Insider Selling

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) traded down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $33.35 and last traded at $33.91. Approximately 4,988,056 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 4,416,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.75.

Specifically, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.85, for a total transaction of $473,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 274,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,280,857.60. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $75.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $60.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 5.42 and a quick ratio of 4.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 282.58 and a beta of 1.18.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The aerospace company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 3.18%. The company had revenue of $471.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vision Retirement LLC grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter worth $30,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 128.9% in the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $34,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is a defense technology company that develops products and services for U.S. government agencies, national security organizations, and allied governments. Its work spans unmanned systems, satellite communications, microwave electronics, command-and-control systems, and training and simulation. The company’s offerings include unmanned aerial vehicles and target drones, as well as systems and components used in space and satellite communications and other defense applications.