Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Down 3.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares fell by 3.3% to $66.27, with a significant drop in trading volume, indicating potential investor concerns.
• Analysts have mixed views, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and target prices suggesting growth potential, the highest being $72.00 from B. Riley.
• Insider trading activity includes sales by CFO Deanna H. Lund and another insider, reflecting changes in their positions with a decrease of shares owned after the transactions.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) shares dropped 3.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $65.79 and last traded at $66.27. Approximately 593,955 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,316,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.64.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

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 50 day moving average is $56.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.91. The stock has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 664.79 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts anticipate 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 other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.51, for a total transaction of $222,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,339,968.54. This trade represents a 8.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,986 shares of company stock valued at $3,792,398. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.0% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 122,379 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,685,000 after buying an additional 10,113 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.1% during the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth about $132,000. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 30.4% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 16,030 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 34.8% in the second quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 174,166 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,090,000 after acquiring an additional 44,996 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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