Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 2.4% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares fell 2.4% after insider selling, with the stock trading as low as $54.25 amid lighter-than-average volume.
• Insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares at an average price of $59.16 in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction, reducing his holdings by about 5.4%.
• Despite the pullback, analysts still remain broadly positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus, though several firms have recently lowered price targets, and Kratos also posted strong quarterly results with EPS and revenue both beating estimates.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 2.4% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $54.25 and last traded at $54.82. 2,717,468 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 4,360,943 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.19.

Specifically, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 70,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,146,642.72. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.28.

More Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos announced it is significantly expanding production capacity for its Spartan turbojet engines to meet rising demand from missile and loitering munition programs, reinforcing the company’s role in defense propulsion and supporting longer-term revenue growth. Article: Kratos Expands Production of Spartan Engines to Support Growing Missile and Loitering Munition Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst commentary highlighted Kratos’ growth opportunities in hypersonics and autonomous systems, including ramping Valkyrie drone production and improving Unmanned Systems profitability, which could support future upside. Article: Is KTOS Building a Growth Engine in Hypersonics & Autonomous Systems?
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. The sale was relatively small and automatic, but insider selling can still create some caution among investors. Article: Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent market commentary questioned whether KTOS has become too expensive after its multiyear run, with the stock still vulnerable to valuation-driven pullbacks despite strong long-term gains. Article: Is Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) Pricing In Too Much After Its Multiyear Run?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.45. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 322.47 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $337,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,622 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $278,331,000 after purchasing an additional 209,189 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc NASDAQ: KTOS is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.

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