Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at KeyCorp

KeyCorp upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $72.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.53.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 5.6%

KTOS opened at $75.39 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.12. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $23.90 and a 52 week high of $112.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 579.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.01 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 1.56%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $455,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 198,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,103,205.42. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.30, for a total transaction of $305,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,547,226.70. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 472,711 shares of company stock valued at $35,730,005 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 193.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 142.7% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.