Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 1.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) experienced a 1.3% decline in stock price, closing at $63.33, with a significant drop in trading volume of approximately 498,077 shares compared to an average of 3,292,245 shares.
• Analysts have differing views on the stock; while Benchmark raised its target price to $50 and classified it as a "buy", Wall Street Zen downgraded it from "hold" to "sell".
• Kratos reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the last quarter, with an EPS of $0.11 against an estimate of $0.09, and revenue of $351.50 million, marking a 17.1% increase year-over-year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) was down 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $62.80 and last traded at $63.33. Approximately 498,077 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,292,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KTOS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of 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. JMP Securities set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.64.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 0.2%

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 stock's fifty day moving average is $59.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 642.15 and a beta of 1.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 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 company had revenue of $351.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 5,758 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.54, for a total value of $377,379.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $635,213.68. The trade was a 37.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $16,603,478.50. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,177 shares of company stock worth $3,876,673 over the last 90 days. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 129.0% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 893 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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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