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

Key Points

• Phillip Carrai sold 6,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions on April 15 at an average price of $74.72 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, generating $485,680 and reducing his stake by 2.77 to 227,898 shares (~$17.03M).
• Kratos beat estimates with Q EPS of $0.18 (vs. $0.14) and revenue of $345.1M (+21.9% YoY); the stock traded down to $70.99 on heavy volume, has a 12‑month range of $31.48–$134.00, a market cap of $13.3B and a very high P/E (~546).
• The consensus from analysts is a "Moderate Buy" with a $98.28 price target, and institutional investors hold about 75.92% of the company's shares.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) insider Phillip Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.72, for a total transaction of $485,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 227,898 shares in the company, valued at $17,028,538.56. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $3.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,150,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,288,156. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.17 and a 200-day moving average of $87.34. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.48 and a 12 month high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.06 and a quick ratio of 3.46. The firm has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 546.12 and a beta of 1.22.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.63% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The firm had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $327.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KTOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $99.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $79.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.28.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.

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