Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 1.5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' stock (NASDAQ:KTOS) experienced a 1.5% decline, closing at $58.07, with trading volume significantly down by 71% compared to its average.
• Despite the recent drop, analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and price targets ranging from $48.00 to $70.00.
• Recent insider trading includes the sale of 10,000 shares by executives, indicating a 2.37% ownership by insiders after the transactions.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $56.86 and last traded at $58.07. Approximately 937,955 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,269,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KTOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Benchmark upped their price target 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. upped their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 638.86 and a beta of 1.04. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.66.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $351.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.67 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.44% and a net margin of 1.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.76, for a total value of $1,350,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,328,388.48. This represents a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $247,904.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 318,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,033,416.50. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 145,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,644,656 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth about $594,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 295,980 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,808,000 after purchasing an additional 44,048 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,407,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,039,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,221,860 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $36,277,000 after buying an additional 24,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

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.