Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 3.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) shares fell 3.3% intraday, trading as low as $52.87 after closing at $55.35 the prior session.
• Despite the decline, Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a $100.44 average target price, and recent analyst actions included upgrades from JPMorgan and Clear Street.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.16 EPS on $371 million in revenue, while insiders have been selling shares in recent months, including a notable sale by executive Steven S. Fendley.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 3.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $52.87 and last traded at $53.54. Approximately 3,789,895 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 4,612,046 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Clear Str raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.44.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 3.3%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.69. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 314.94 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total value of $2,038,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 309,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,998,136.01. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 295,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,331,920. This trade represents a 1.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 161,453 shares of company stock valued at $9,561,063 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 420 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by 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.

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