Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 1.4% – Here’s Why

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares fell 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $49.16 and last traded at $49.68. 4,901,427 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 4,566,974 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.36.

Key Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos said it received approximately $400 million in new Department of War funding tied to hypersonic system and other national security programs, which should boost backlog and revenue visibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company opened a 167,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in York, Pennsylvania, expanding its ability to produce mission-critical defense hardware faster and at larger scale. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Kratos’ Pennsylvania expansion supports high-priority programs including hypersonics, air defense, missiles, radar, and counter-UAS, reinforcing its role in defense modernization spending. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha note argued Kratos deserves a cautious Buy because of its backlog, book-to-bill strength, and multi-year growth visibility, but said investors should focus more on EV/EBITDA growth than per-share metrics. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The same analysis flagged equity dilution as a real headwind, and insider-trading data showed persistent selling over the last six months, which can weigh on sentiment. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target 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. Truist Financial raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Clear Str upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of 292.24 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $54.94 and its 200-day moving average is $76.39. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $264,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 285,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,083,654.25. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.37, for a total value of $338,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 302,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,613,834.62. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 153,453 shares of company stock valued at $8,867,008. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $337,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,622 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,345,000 after buying an additional 124,607 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,331,000 after acquiring an additional 209,189 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,072,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $189,383,000 after acquiring an additional 247,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $120,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573,123 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.