Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 3.7% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• The stock price of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) fell by 3.7% following the sale of 4,000 shares by insider David M. Carter.
• Analyst ratings for the company are predominantly positive, with thirteen analysts issuing a "Buy" rating and an average price target of $57.64.
• Kratos reported a revenue increase of 17.1% year-over-year for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations with revenue of $351.50 million.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 3.7% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $73.11 and last traded at $73.55. Approximately 1,219,740 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 3,292,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.35.

Specifically, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.70, for a total value of $274,800.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 97,809 shares in the company, valued at $6,719,478.30. This represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. 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 research report on Thursday, August 14th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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 research report on Monday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.64.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 3.0%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.60. The company has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 738.70 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a current ratio of 4.43.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 122,379 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,685,000 after purchasing an additional 10,113 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $132,000. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 16,030 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 34.8% in the second quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 174,166 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,090,000 after acquiring an additional 44,996 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently 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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