Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Insider Sells $338,845.00 in Stock

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

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.47. 2,747,650 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,297,410. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $71.76 and its 200-day moving average is $82.74. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.06 and a 12-month high of $134.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 314.53 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KTOS shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.28.

More Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News

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 Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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