Citizens Jmp Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Citizens Jmp from $105.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market outperform” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s price target suggests a potential upside of 73.18% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on KTOS. BTIG Research increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $88.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “negative” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.32.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $40.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 237.76 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.52. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $37.84 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, CFO Deanna Lund sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.78, for a total transaction of $341,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,341,866.58. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Phillip Carrai sold 26,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.25, for a total transaction of $1,676,125.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 182,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,516,813. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 382,013 shares of company stock worth $23,856,842. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $34,842,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $53,746,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 623.2% during the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 40,339 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 34,761 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,520,000 after purchasing an additional 342,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.8% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 140,856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,023,000 after purchasing an additional 32,315 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 is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense, and commercial applications. Its offerings support unmanned systems, satellite communications, space operations, missile defense, hypersonic programs, launch systems, and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) missions.

The company provides unmanned aerial, ground, and maritime systems, including target drones and other autonomous platforms used for testing, training, and operational missions.