Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $36.57 and last traded at $36.68, with a volume of 407612 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JMP Securities restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.13.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 362.94 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.90.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.88, for a total transaction of $131,520.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,515,069.28. The trade was a 3.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total transaction of $40,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 60,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,639,214.16. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 97,168 shares of company stock valued at $2,866,800 over the last ninety days. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,719,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,301,000 after purchasing an additional 701,216 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,340,795 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $114,510,000 after buying an additional 307,907 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,130,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $82,576,000 after acquiring an additional 203,245 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,116,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,204,000 after purchasing an additional 317,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,079,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $54,845,000 after purchasing an additional 172,030 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.