Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Up 7.2% – Time to Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares rose 7.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $58.89 and last traded at $58.78. Approximately 3,938,320 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 4,357,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KTOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Clear Str upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.17.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.13. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 339.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total value of $2,171,295.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 252,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,975,475. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total transaction of $2,038,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 309,087 shares in the company, valued at $17,998,136.01. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 217,564 shares of company stock worth $14,576,994. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $45,673,000 after purchasing an additional 427,396 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6,900.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 176,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,423,000 after purchasing an additional 174,305 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 34,973 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $21,013,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 465,100 shares during the last quarter. 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.