Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.4706.

Several brokerages recently commented on KTOS. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.55, for a total transaction of $242,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 280,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,617,643.85. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total transaction of $2,038,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 309,087 shares in the company, valued at $17,998,136.01. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 428,688 shares of company stock worth $26,672,182. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $52.00 on Monday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12-month low of $43.09 and a 12-month high of $134.00. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 305.88 and a beta of 1.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.