Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 2.9% – What’s Next?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) fell 2.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $69.80 and last traded at $71.96. 2,824,371 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 4,375,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.09.

Key Headlines Impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies upgraded KTOS from Hold to Buy and kept an $85 price target, citing hypersonics and missile-demand upside; the upgrade sparked strong intraday buying. Jefferies upgrades Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS)
• Positive Sentiment: Kratos was awarded a contract by the Naval Surface Warfare Center to produce and supply Oriole solid rocket motors (up to 36 motors and associated hardware), strengthening its missile/rocket supply pipeline. Kratos (KTOS) Awarded New Contracts by Naval Surface Warfare Centre
• Positive Sentiment: Kratos partnered with SKY Perfect JSAT to develop a 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) satellite ground system, expanding its addressable market in satellite communications and 5G infrastructure. Kratos joins SKY Perfect JSAT to develop 5G NTN satellite ground system
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage: Zacks and other outlets list KTOS among top drone/robotics stocks to watch, which can boost visibility but doesn’t guarantee near-term revenue changes. Top Drone Tech Stocks to Keep an Eye on for Strong Returns
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales: the CFO sold ~$348K and a director sold ~$2.17M in KTOS stock recently — moves that can pressure sentiment or raise governance questions even if routine. CFO Sells $348,150.00 in Stock Director Sells $2,171,295.00 in Stock

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 2.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 553.58 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.90 and its 200 day moving average is $87.97. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 4.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.63% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $345.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total value of $2,171,295.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 252,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,975,475. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.78, for a total transaction of $307,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,672,038.06. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 211,000 shares of company stock worth $19,390,027 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $122,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 23,771 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 6,141 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,015 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Eos Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 15,021 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 6,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,452 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 4,026 shares during the last quarter. 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.