Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 4,566 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 155% compared to the average daily volume of 1,789 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KTOS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Benchmark raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 0.1 %

KTOS opened at $17.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -297.33 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.43. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $12.12 and a 52 week high of $21.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $273.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $253.39 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a positive return on equity of 3.01% and a negative net margin of 0.86%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $121,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 352,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,114,794.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 214,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $121,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 352,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,114,794.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,538 shares of company stock valued at $763,479. 2.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 120,800.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter valued at $33,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 222.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 87.5% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.