Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) shares fell 7% during mid-day trading, dropping from a previous close of $90.62 to $84.30, with trading volume significantly increasing to 4.5 million shares.
• Despite the stock's recent decline, analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 out of 17 analysts rating the stock as a "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.36.
• In its latest earnings report, Kratos reported a 17.1% year-over-year revenue growth to $351.5 million, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with earnings per share of $0.11, beating forecasts by $0.02.

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) fell 7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $80.81 and last traded at $84.30. 4,497,155 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 24% from the average session volume of 3,630,376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on KTOS. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Benchmark raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 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. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.36.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 7.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.88, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 843.08 and a beta of 1.12. The business's fifty day moving average is $78.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. Equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $473,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,412,482.78. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.10, for a total value of $325,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 313,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,397,587.70. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,716 shares of company stock worth $6,399,245 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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