Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares gapped down from $98.55 to $94.70 after insider selling, with insider David M. Carter selling 4,000 shares at an average price of $102.81.
• Analysts have set target prices for Kratos, with Canaccord Genuity raising it from $74.00 to $120.00, while the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $69.14.
• The company reported a 17.1% year-over-year increase in revenue, achieving $351.50 million for the quarter, exceeding estimates and marking an earnings per share of $0.11.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $98.55, but opened at $94.70. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares last traded at $97.96, with a volume of 1,852,059 shares trading hands.

Specifically, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.81, for a total transaction of $411,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 93,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,644,503.29. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KTOS. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, June 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 1.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 990.68 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $73.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.55.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The company had revenue of $351.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,447,687 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $488,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,179 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,577 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,507,692 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $209,382,000 after purchasing an additional 818,104 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,949,763 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $183,490,000 after buying an additional 301,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,837,005 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $131,779,000 after buying an additional 434,561 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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