Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 5.2% – Here’s Why

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price traded down 5.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $71.70 and last traded at $71.94. 3,165,309 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 4,355,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KTOS. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Truist Financial set a $135.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 4.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 553.43 and a beta of 1.12.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The company had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 191,699 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.28, for a total transaction of $17,306,585.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,032,922.76. This represents a 21.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David M. Carter sold 8,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.40, for a total transaction of $856,164.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 81,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,623,406.40. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 371,500 shares of company stock valued at $34,664,848. 2.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $120,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,123 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $104,807,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $91,901,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $280,402,000 after buying an additional 698,778 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.