Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wedbush

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) was upgraded by research analysts at Wedbush to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on KTOS. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $100.44.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 6.4%

Shares of NASDAQ KTOS opened at $53.04 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.97. The company has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 312.00 and a beta of 1.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $41.87 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.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.74, for a total value of $375,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 215,052 shares in the company, valued at $12,417,102.48. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $86,895.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 64,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,733,414.71. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,778 shares of company stock worth $9,063,063. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in 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 worth $45,673,000 after acquiring an additional 427,396 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 174,305 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 34,973 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,013,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 964,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $88,170,000 after purchasing an additional 465,100 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and an $85 price target, with the analyst calling Kratos a “misunderstood” supplier to the broader U.S. defense ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Kratos won an agreement to become the exclusive U.S. manufacturer for Elroy Air, and also disclosed an initial joint venture agreement with Barq Group in Abu Dhabi, boosting its uncrewed systems and international growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm around the proposed Golden Dome missile defense initiative is highlighting Kratos as a potential long-term supplier, supporting the case for future defense spending tied to its scalable technologies. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Defense stocks, including KTOS, also got a lift after AeroVironment’s strong quarterly results signaled healthy demand across the sector. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional commentary from market outlets and analyst roundups continued to spotlight Kratos as one of the notable defense names attracting investor attention, but these items were mainly reiterative rather than new catalysts. Article Title

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.