Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $40.52 and last traded at $40.5910, with a volume of 437,260 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KTOS. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $88.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $135.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.16.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 3.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 235.51 and a beta of 1.11.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total value of $393,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 288,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,180,313.76. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scot Jarvis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 65,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,135,310.50. This trade represents a 13.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 375,513 shares of company stock worth $23,597,752. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,293,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,746,000. American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,338,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,842,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $74,520,000 after acquiring an additional 342,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense, and commercial applications. Its offerings support unmanned systems, satellite communications, space operations, missile defense, hypersonic programs, launch systems, and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) missions.

The company provides unmanned aerial, ground, and maritime systems, including target drones and other autonomous platforms used for testing, training, and operational missions.