Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Insider David Carter Sells 4,000 Shares of Stock

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) insider David Carter sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total value of $236,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 70,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,146,642.72. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 2.7%

KTOS opened at $56.19 on Wednesday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.90 and a 12 month high of $134.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.53 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.45.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $337,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,622 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,331,000 after purchasing an additional 209,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos announced plans to significantly increase production capacity for its Spartan turbojet engines, which should help meet growing demand from missile and loitering munition programs and could support future revenue growth. Article: Kratos Expands Production of Spartan Engines to Support Growing Missile and Loitering Munition Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Kratos’ growth engine in hypersonics and autonomous systems, noting Valkyrie drone production and improving Unmanned Systems profitability as key drivers for longer-term upside. Article: Is KTOS Building a Growth Engine in Hypersonics & Autonomous Systems?
• Neutral Sentiment: An insider, David M. Carter, sold 4,000 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. While the sale was disclosed properly and represented a small portion of his holdings, insider selling can still weigh on investor sentiment. Article: Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary questioned whether KTOS has already priced in too much of its multiyear run, pointing to a sharp year-to-date decline despite strong longer-term gains. That valuation debate may be contributing to the stock’s weakness. Article: Is Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) Pricing In Too Much After Its Multiyear Run?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.28.

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.