Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) CEO Eric Demarco Sells 191,699 Shares

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) CEO Eric Demarco sold 191,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.28, for a total transaction of $17,306,585.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,032,922.76. This trade represents a 21.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS stock traded up $2.00 on Tuesday, hitting $91.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,903,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,975,709. The stock has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 707.21 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.84. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.90 and a 1 year high of $112.57.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jones Trading initiated coverage with a “buy” rating, providing fresh institutional analyst support that can attract buyers and lend momentum to the rally. Jones Trading Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Kratos announced program progress (EPOCH–OneSat milestone) and secured new defense contracts, which could boost near?term revenue visibility and reinforce defense growth thesis for investors. EPOCH–OneSat Milestone & Contracts
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces explaining past performance (e.g., why KTOS rose ~95% in Q3) provide useful context on growth drivers and investor sentiment but are retrospective rather than direct catalysts. InsiderMonkey Q3 Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Eric M. DeMarco sold a large block — 191,699 shares on Jan 6 at an average ~$90.28 (and 8,301 shares on Jan 5 at ~$90.00). Combined, the filings show roughly 200,000 shares sold over two days, with the larger Jan 6 sale reported as a ~21.8% reduction in a particular holding; sizable insider sales can be perceived negatively by the market. SEC filing: CEO SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares on Jan 2 at an average of $77.91, a modest reduction but another insider sale that adds to the negative signaling from management transactions. SEC filing: CFO SEC Filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KTOS shares. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,577 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,507,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $209,382,000 after purchasing an additional 818,104 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,949,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $183,490,000 after buying an additional 301,135 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $280,402,000 after buying an additional 698,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,331,000 after buying an additional 209,189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.