Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 5.5% – Should You Sell?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price was down 5.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $46.31 and last traded at $46.96. Approximately 3,103,802 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 4,556,349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on KTOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Clear Str raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 5.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.18. The company has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 276.24 and a beta of 1.07. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $233,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000. This trade represents a 32.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 1.72% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 148,036 shares of company stock valued at $8,455,857. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in 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 bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $104,807,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,398,525 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $106,162,000 after buying an additional 556,036 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,458,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $110,683,000 after acquiring an additional 476,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 93.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 964,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $88,170,000 after acquiring an additional 465,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.