Insider Selling: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Insider Sells 7,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Director Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares on Jan. 26 at an average price of $107.97 for roughly $755,790, cutting his stake by 2.01% to 341,631 shares—transaction disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Company and market context: KTOS shares recently traded at $112.67 (52-week range $23.90–$134); the firm beat Q results (EPS $0.14 vs. $0.12) and revenue rose 26% YoY but it has a thin net margin (1.56%) and a very high PE (~867), while analysts remain largely positive with an average target around $95 and several price-target raises.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 341,631 shares in the company, valued at $36,885,899.07. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $5.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $112.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,750,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,523,769. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.90 and a 52-week high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a current ratio of 4.30. The business's 50-day moving average is $88.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.50. The company has a market capitalization of $19.02 billion, a PE ratio of 866.76 and a beta of 1.09.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $323.01 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The company's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,830 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,665 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KTOS. B. Riley increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.28.

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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