Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $27.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $20.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $22.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $18.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -310.95 and a beta of 0.81. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1-year low of $12.12 and a 1-year high of $21.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.03.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $273.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $253.39 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a negative net margin of 0.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.24, for a total value of $127,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 345,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,305,768.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.87, for a total value of $73,045.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 223,131 shares in the company, valued at $4,656,743.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.24, for a total value of $127,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 345,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,305,768.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,538 shares of company stock valued at $642,099 over the last three months. 2.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 192.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 80,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 52,773 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 55.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 114,507 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 40,798 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 39.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,550,673 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,291,000 after purchasing an additional 435,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $914,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.