Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 4.1% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares fell by 4.1% after insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares, reducing his ownership by 1.94% and driving down trading volume significantly.
• Despite the recent decline, several analysts maintain a positive outlook with 11 buy ratings and target price increases from firms such as Stifel Nicolaus and Royal Bank Of Canada.
• The company recently reported positive earnings with $0.12 EPS, exceeding estimates, and a 9.2% year-over-year revenue growth, highlighting strong fundamentals amid market fluctuations.

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) traded down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $54.50 and last traded at $56.27. 1,682,277 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 3,250,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.70.

Specifically, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.51, for a total value of $222,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,339,968.54. This trade represents a 8.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.53, for a total transaction of $409,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 353,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,687,487.03. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KTOS. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 3.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $46.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.76. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 436.26 and a beta of 1.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $302.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% during the second quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.3% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.7% during the second quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,965 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,769 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.