Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 2.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' stock fell by 2.2%, trading at $88.62 with increased share volume of approximately 4.1 million, surpassing the average daily volume.
• Recent analyst reports show mixed reviews with **BTIG Research** upgrading its rating to "buy" while **B. Riley** downgraded it to "neutral," reflecting varying outlooks on the company’s performance.
• Insiders have recently sold thousands of shares, with CFO **Deanna H. Lund** selling 5,000 shares for a total of $460,150, indicating possible insider concerns amid fluctuating stock prices.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) shares dropped 2.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $88.49 and last traded at $88.62. Approximately 4,129,792 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 3,612,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. B. Riley cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $78.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.36.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 3.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.28. The company has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 886.29 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.81, for a total transaction of $411,240.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 93,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,644,503.29. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.03, for a total value of $460,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 308,069 shares in the company, valued at $28,351,590.07. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,276 shares of company stock valued at $5,678,021. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. One Plus One Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at $4,246,000. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at $317,000. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at $1,141,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,766 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at $2,054,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

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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