Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Down 1.1% Following Insider Selling

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.1% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $41.87 and last traded at $42.59. 1,223,370 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 1,983,252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.07.

Specifically, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total transaction of $322,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 360,475 shares in the company, valued at $16,603,478.50. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 report on Monday. Noble Financial lifted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.82.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 3.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 343.14 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.60 and a 200 day moving average of $33.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The company had revenue of $302.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $1,156,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,169 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 3,452 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 90.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,284 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 39,331 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.