Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 7.6% on Insider Selling

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) fell 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $57.90 and last traded at $58.43. 5,077,811 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 4,405,077 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.27.

Specifically, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $318,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 290,161 shares in the company, valued at $18,494,862.14. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.47, for a total transaction of $261,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 13,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,771.12. This represents a 22.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In related news, Director Bobbi Doorenbos sold 2,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $143,225.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $716,125. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on KTOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Truist Financial raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 344.24 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.72.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $337,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,622 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake 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 worth $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake 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 worth $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $278,331,000 after purchasing an additional 209,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake 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 worth $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.