Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 2.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares of Kratos slipped 2.4% to $93.04 on Wednesday with trading volume about 36% below average; analysts still carry a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target of $98.28, with KeyCorp and Goldman Sachs raising targets to $130 and $125 respectively.
• Kratos beat expectations in the latest quarter, reporting $0.18 EPS (vs. $0.14 est.) and revenue of $345.1M (vs. $327.5M est.), a 21.9% year‑over‑year revenue gain.
• Potential risks include heavy insider selling (550,763 shares worth ~$48.8M over 90 days) and a very high trailing P/E (~715), even as institutional ownership is elevated (~75.9%).

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $92.66 and last traded at $93.04. Approximately 2,826,731 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 4,418,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.25 and a 200 day moving average of $87.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.06 and a quick ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 715.75 and a beta of 1.12.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The company had revenue of $345.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.57, for a total value of $535,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 318,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,382,567.95. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 8,523 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.98, for a total value of $792,468.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $911,389.96. This represents a 46.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 550,763 shares of company stock worth $48,771,342 over the last 90 days. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $120,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,123 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,807,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $236,268,000 after buying an additional 1,162,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $91,901,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.