Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 7.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price was up 7.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $74.44 and last traded at $74.11. Approximately 2,532,479 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 3,580,882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. B. Riley lowered shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 7.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 3.88. The firm has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 741.17 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $85.00 and its 200-day moving average is $63.30.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.01 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.20%.The business’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total transaction of $622,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 339,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,167,560.72. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.03, for a total transaction of $460,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 308,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,351,590.07. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,124 shares of company stock valued at $6,344,328. 2.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.