Insider Selling: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Insider Sells 6,500 Shares of Stock

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) insider Phillip Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.13, for a total value of $338,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 221,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,549,401.50. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.4%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,747,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,297,410. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 314.53 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.74. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.06 and a 52-week high of $134.00.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.28.

Key Stories Impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos continues to benefit from rising defense spending and demand for unmanned systems, with recent results showing 22.6% revenue growth and a record backlog.
• Neutral Sentiment: A market article singled out KTOS as a long-term growth name after its pullback, arguing the recent weakness may have improved the entry point versus earlier highs. 3 Undervalued Stocks to Buy Before the Market’s Next Big Move
• Negative Sentiment: Director and executive insider sales, including a 3,000-share sale by Bradley L. Boyd and additional sales by Phillip D. Carrai and Marie Mendoza, may be adding pressure to the stock. SEC filing

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 75.92% of the stock is 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.