Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 1.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) saw its stock price decrease by 1.4%, closing at $58.58 with a significant drop in trading volume of 79% compared to average levels.
• Equities research analysts generally remain positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $50.08, reflecting optimism about the company's growth potential.
• Insider trading activity has shown a notable decrease in ownership, with key insiders selling off shares, which raises questions about internal confidence in the stock’s future performance.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) traded down 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $57.93 and last traded at $58.58. 680,274 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 3,266,827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. JMP Securities set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Finally, Noble Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $47.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 461.01 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $302.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 40,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.76, for a total value of $1,350,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,348 shares in the company, valued at $1,328,388.48. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $515,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 384,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,214,990.04. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 145,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,644,656. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Black Swift Group LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth about $2,322,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 17.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,431,632 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $66,499,000 after acquiring an additional 209,772 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 24.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 43,461 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 8,417 shares in the last quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at about $7,246,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 25.2% during the second quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 19,886 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 3,997 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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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