Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $998.86 EPS

Key Points

• Kratos reported $999.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus of $0.14 by $998.86.
• Significant insider selling: CEO Eric M. DeMarco sold 200,000 shares for about $14.8M, and insiders sold a total of 911,907 shares valued at roughly $74.9M over the past three months.
• Shares slipped about 1.8% to $94.36; the company has a market cap of $16.07B, an elevated P/E of 725.89, and a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $93.83 target.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The aerospace company reported $999.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $998.86, Zacks reports. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of KTOS traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $94.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,426,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,945,271. The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 725.89 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.40. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12 month low of $23.90 and a 12 month high of $134.00.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 200,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.09, for a total transaction of $14,818,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,196,237 shares in the company, valued at $88,629,199.33. This trade represents a 14.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total transaction of $1,934,148.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,487 shares in the company, valued at $3,092,092.38. This represents a 38.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 911,907 shares of company stock valued at $74,908,183. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,918 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,945 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 526 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 724 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KTOS shares. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group began 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 for the company. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.83.

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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