Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Insider Phillip Carrai Sells 6,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Phillip Carrai sold 6,500 Kratos shares for approximately $259,090 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his direct ownership by 3.7% to 169,196 shares.
• Stock performance: KTOS fell 0.8% to $40.42, near its 52-week low of $37.84, while trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Business and analyst outlook: Kratos exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up 30.5% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $94.16, despite institutional investors owning 75.92% of the stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) insider Phillip Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total transaction of $259,090.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,196 shares in the company, valued at $6,744,152.56. This represents a 3.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.42. The stock had a trading volume of 5,510,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,798,642. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.59. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.88 and a beta of 1.11. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.84 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The business had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,293,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,746,000. American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $51,338,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $34,842,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $74,520,000 after acquiring an additional 342,789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KTOS. Piper Sandler raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $88.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, October 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.16.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense, and commercial applications. Its offerings support unmanned systems, satellite communications, space operations, missile defense, hypersonic programs, launch systems, and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) missions.

The company provides unmanned aerial, ground, and maritime systems, including target drones and other autonomous platforms used for testing, training, and operational missions.

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