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

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.3529.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS stock opened at $56.34 on Wednesday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $39.00 and a 52 week high of $134.00. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 331.41 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total value of $2,038,050.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 309,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,998,136.01. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total transaction of $1,788,716.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,480. This represents a 79.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 188,278 shares of company stock valued at $11,966,663 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,673,000 after acquiring an additional 427,396 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6,900.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 176,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,423,000 after acquiring an additional 174,305 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 34,973 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $21,013,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 93.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 964,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $88,170,000 after buying an additional 465,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.