Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 6.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares declined by 6.6% after B. Riley downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating, with a revised price target of $105.00.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts have recently raised their price targets for the stock, with Royal Bank of Canada setting a target of $65.00 and JMP Securities at $105.00.
• Insider trading activity includes VP Maria Cervantes selling shares worth approximately $437,227 and CFO Deanna H. Lund selling shares for $460,150, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes.

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) fell 6.6% on Thursday after B. Riley downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. B. Riley now has a $105.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $72.00. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions traded as low as $97.22 and last traded at $98.66. 6,617,804 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 86% from the average session volume of 3,565,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.67.

A number of other analysts have also commented on KTOS. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. 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. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP De Burgreen Maria Cervantes sold 6,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.80, for a total transaction of $437,227.20. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 53,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,741,908.20. This trade represents a 10.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.03, for a total transaction of $460,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 308,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,351,590.07. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,276 shares of company stock valued at $5,677,241 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $488,332,000 after buying an additional 1,728,179 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 worth $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,577 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC grew 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 worth $209,382,000 after purchasing an additional 818,104 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $183,490,000 after purchasing an additional 301,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,837,005 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $131,779,000 after acquiring an additional 434,561 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

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 company's 50 day moving average price is $73.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.09. The company has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 991.46 and a beta of 1.12.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.67 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

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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