Kratos Defense falls about 2% on Monday profit-taking
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions traded about 2% lower Monday as investors took profits after a recent rebound, with no clear company-specific catalyst cited.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS ) stock traded about 2% lower Monday as investors took profits following a recent rebound.
The decline came even as the Industrials sector gained 0.12%.
The Nasdaq rose 0.36%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.13%.
Kratos had no clear company-specific catalyst driving Monday’s decline.
Instead, the move appeared to reflect profit-taking after the stock’s recent rally.
Kratos, GE Aerospace Expand Defense Push Separately, Kratos Defense and GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE ) said their GEK800 engine received the U.S. military designation F143-ZZ-100.
The companies also secured a U.S.
Air Force engineering, manufacturing and development contract.
The GEK800 will serve as a second-source propulsion system for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM.
The companies are developing small, lower-cost turbofan engines for cruise missiles, collaborative combat aircraft and other uncrewed aerial vehicles.
The GEK800 is an 800-pound-thrust turbofan.
Technical Analysis Kratos remains well above its short-term moving averages.
The stock is 18.2% above its 20-day simple moving average of $54.17 and 21.4% above its 50-day SMA of $52.74.
However, shares remain 12.9% below the 200-day SMA of $73.52.
That suggests the longer-term recovery remains incomplete.
Momentum has improved.
The MACD is above its signal line, while the histogram is positive.
Still, the 50-day SMA remains below the 200-day SMA following an April death cross.
Traders may watch $67 as near-term resistance.
Support sits around $53.50.
Analyst Outlook The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 379.9, reflecting a premium valuation.
It carries a Buy consensus rating with an average price forecast of $94.14.
Truist Securities maintained a Buy rating but lowered its price forecast to $104 on Aug.
13.
Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating and raised its forecast to $135 on Aug.
6.
Stifel also maintained a Buy rating while lowering its forecast to $115 on Aug.
6.
Edge Rankings Kratos has a Momentum score of 21.33 and a Value score of 4.83.
However, its Growth score stands at 95.07, according to the Edge Stock Rankings.
The scores point to strong growth characteristics but weaker momentum and value metrics.
ETF Exposure Kratos is held by several exchange-traded funds.
The First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (NASDAQ: AIRR ) has a 3.43% weighting in the stock.
The ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (BATS: ARKQ ) has a 5.91% weighting, while the ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (NASDAQ: ARKX ) has a 6.36% weighting.
As a result, meaningful inflows or outflows from these funds can add buying or selling pressure to Kratos shares.
KTOS Price Action Kratos Defense shares were down 2.06% at $63.25 at the time of publication Monday, according to Pro data.