Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 3.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price rose 3.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.49 and last traded at $49.44. 4,776,138 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 4,526,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KTOS shares. Truist Financial upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 4.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.74. The firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 278.53 and a beta of 1.07.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 295,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,331,920. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.13, for a total value of $338,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 221,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,549,401.50. This trade represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 148,036 shares of company stock worth $8,455,857 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $120,966,000 after buying an additional 1,573,123 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $104,807,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,398,525 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $106,162,000 after acquiring an additional 556,036 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,458,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,683,000 after acquiring an additional 476,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,291,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.