Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Down 6.8% - Here's What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 6.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $43.39 and last traded at $43.28. Approximately 1,542,241 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 1,964,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.55.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 7.5%

The firm has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.61 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.84.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $247,904.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 318,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,033,416.50. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total transaction of $197,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 288,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,502,703.52. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,572 shares of company stock valued at $4,869,566 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 202.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.

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.

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