Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 2.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) traded up 2.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $126.31 and last traded at $124.56. 3,596,691 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 4,602,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KTOS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price 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. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Truist Financial set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, December 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.94.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 2.5%

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’s 50 day moving average is $80.15 and its 200-day moving average is $74.51. The company has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 958.23 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 191,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.28, for a total transaction of $17,306,585.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,032,922.76. The trade was a 21.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 8,523 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.98, for a total value of $792,468.54. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,802 shares in the company, valued at $911,389.96. The trade was a 46.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 898,639 shares of company stock valued at $72,622,719 over the last ninety days. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 193.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.