Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 5.5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares dropped by 5.5%, closing at $65.37, with trading volume reducing by 43% compared to the average.
• Research analysts have issued a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for KTOS with a price target averaging $55.92, while multiple firms recently upgraded their ratings.
• In recent insider trading, company insiders sold a total of 99,786 shares, with notable sales by Phillip D. Carrai and Bobbi Doorenbos, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) shares fell 5.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $65.68 and last traded at $65.37. 1,894,854 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 3,327,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KTOS. Noble Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report 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 report on Monday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.92.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 681.30 and a beta of 1.04. The business's fifty day moving average price is $49.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 3.88.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $351.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.16, for a total transaction of $252,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 276,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,639,743.60. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bobbi Doorenbos sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $175,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,786 shares of company stock worth $4,102,682 over the last three months. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $30,000. 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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