Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Insider David Carter Sells 4,000 Shares

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) insider David Carter sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total transaction of $201,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,238 shares in the company, valued at $3,341,707.10. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of KTOS stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,372,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,385,610. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.44 and a 200-day moving average of $76.88. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.01 and a twelve month high of $134.00. The stock has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 283.47 and a beta of 1.07.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 35,098 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,686,000 after purchasing an additional 41,265 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on KTOS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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 report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.41.

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.