Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Up 2.4% – Time to Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shot up 2.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $49.39 and last traded at $48.59. 3,456,146 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 4,326,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KTOS shares. Wedbush started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $105.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.87. The company has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 271.53 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total value of $264,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 285,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,083,654.25. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total value of $329,910.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 295,120 shares in the company, valued at $13,909,005.60. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 389,188 shares of company stock valued at $24,294,682 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.8% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 140,856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,023,000 after acquiring an additional 32,315 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 53.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 6,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $119,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 103.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,422 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,027 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense and commercial applications. The company primarily serves the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies, while also supporting allied governments and selected commercial customers.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and ground systems, target drones, tactical drones, satellite communications systems, space-related products, missile defense technology, hypersonic and high-speed systems, radar and command-and-control solutions, and microwave electronics.