Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 3.6% After Insider Selling

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) fell 3.6% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $79.28 and last traded at $79.3380. 316,348 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 3,448,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.30.

Specifically, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.53, for a total transaction of $16,106,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 796,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,120,965.61. This represents a 20.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 8,549 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.45, for a total transaction of $610,826.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,163,720.35. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KTOS. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, December 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.53.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 3.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a PE ratio of 610.51 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a current ratio of 4.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.10.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 1.56%.The firm had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth $3,143,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $4,155,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 4,050 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 34.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,577 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $246,000. 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.