Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.2778.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KTOS shares. JonesTrading started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial set a $135.00 price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total transaction of $2,171,295.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 252,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,975,475. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP De Burgreen Maria Cervantes sold 6,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.29, for a total value of $559,848.30. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 59,369 shares in the company, valued at $5,301,058.01. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 167,027 shares of company stock worth $13,961,290. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $337,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,622 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,331,000 after purchasing an additional 209,189 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 3.1%

KTOS stock opened at $63.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.72. The company has a current ratio of 4.06, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1-year low of $32.68 and a 1-year high of $134.00. The stock has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 485.88 and a beta of 1.22.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The business had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $327.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.57 EPS 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.