Key Points
- Director William Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of Kratos (NASDAQ:KTOS) on April 1 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, generating about $2.17M and cutting his stake by 10.78% to 252,500 shares.
- Kratos beat quarterly expectations with $0.18 EPS vs. $0.14 expected and revenue of $345.1M (up 21.9% YoY), yet the stock trades around $67.31—well below its 50- and 200-day moving averages—and carries a very high P/E (~518).
- Analysts are largely bullish (average price target ~$98.28 and many Buy ratings) and a proposed increase in defense spending is a tailwind, but recent insider selling and technical weakness present near-term downside risk.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) CFO Deanna Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.63, for a total transaction of $348,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 300,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,893,804.47. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance
Shares of KTOS stock opened at $67.31 on Friday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.78 and a 12-month high of $134.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 517.81 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 4.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.65 and a 200-day moving average of $87.85.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The firm's revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.
Key Stories Impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Large proposed defense budget — President Trump’s FY2027 request calls for a significant jump in defense spending, a macro tailwind for defense contractors with unmanned systems and C5ISR capabilities like Kratos. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Multiple firms (BTIG, Cantor Fitzgerald, B. Riley, Citi, JonesTrading) have reiterated buys or raised targets, lifting the consensus price objective well above current levels and supporting longer-term upside expectations. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Strong institutional ownership and recent buys — Large funds (Geode, Morgan Stanley, First Trust, Invesco) hold material stakes and increased positions, which provides liquidity and steady demand but can also amplify volatility if they rebalance. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Planned insider sales under 10b5-1 — Director William Hoglund (30,500 shares) and CFO Deanna Lund (5,000 shares) executed sales under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; such planned disposals are less informative about company fundamentals but increase share supply. Read More. · Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Additional insider selling not flagged as 10b5-1 — Director/insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares (~1.9% of his stake) at ~ $69.59; while modest, repeated insider sales can concern investors when combined with technical weakness. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Technical/near-term pressure — Coverage noting that KTOS has been declining since mid-January and "may have more room to go" highlights short-term downside risk despite positive fundamentals. Read More.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $337,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,622 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 2,755,446 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $127,990,000 after buying an additional 324,140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
KTOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial set a $135.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.28.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
(
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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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