Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 6.6% on Insider Selling

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price fell 6.6% on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $94.77 and last traded at $96.16. 3,787,364 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 4,367,329 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.01.

Specifically, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.28, for a total transaction of $591,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 100,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,322.76. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.97, for a total value of $755,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 341,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,885,899.07. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.91 and a 200 day moving average of $80.67. The company has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 739.75 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Rovida Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $82,315,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,577 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter worth $91,901,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $37,475,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently 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.