Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $45.58 and last traded at $46.4640, with a volume of 397166 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KTOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 0.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 274.48 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The company 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total value of $2,038,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 309,087 shares in the company, valued at $17,998,136.01. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total transaction of $1,788,716.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $456,480. This trade represents a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,036 shares of company stock valued at $8,455,857. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $45,673,000 after buying an additional 427,396 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6,900.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 176,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,423,000 after buying an additional 174,305 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after buying an additional 34,973 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 714,083 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $54,206,000 after acquiring an additional 281,811 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $1,821,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.