Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 2.3% – Time to Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares fell 2.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $58.75 and last traded at $60.56. 2,837,032 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 4,455,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.47.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.3%

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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.52. The company has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 356.24 and a beta of 1.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total value of $2,038,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 309,087 shares in the company, valued at $17,998,136.01. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total transaction of $1,788,716.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,480. This represents a 79.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 433,523 shares of company stock worth $26,783,747. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,646,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,746,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $51,338,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $740,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.