Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Up 3.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) rose 3.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Citizens Jmp raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $125.00. Citizens Jmp currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions traded as high as $119.63 and last traded at $117.86. Approximately 5,016,997 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 4,840,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.70.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on KTOS. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday. B. Riley boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jones Trading started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $389,550.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 243,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,950,438.85. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 191,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.28, for a total transaction of $17,306,585.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,032,922.76. The trade was a 21.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 885,511 shares of company stock worth $70,988,315. Company insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 193.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 3.7%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.14 and a 200 day moving average of $73.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a current ratio of 4.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 906.69 and a beta of 1.09.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.