Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KTOS shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, October 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.16.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.54 and a quick ratio of 4.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.06 and a beta of 1.11.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.07% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna Lund sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.78, for a total value of $341,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 273,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,341,866.58. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total transaction of $48,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 61,200 shares in the company, valued at $2,968,200. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 375,513 shares of company stock worth $23,597,752 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,515,997 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $106,893,000 after purchasing an additional 164,607 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $53,746,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $74,520,000 after buying an additional 342,789 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $51,338,000. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at $34,842,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.