Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 2.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares were up 2.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $126.31 and last traded at $124.56. Approximately 3,596,691 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 4,602,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.50.

Key Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst momentum — KTOS received an analyst upgrade that drove positive headlines and upward price-target revisions, supporting buying interest. Article Title Price target story
• Positive Sentiment: New hypersonics manufacturing capacity — Kratos opened a 55,000 sq. ft. hypersonic system manufacturing facility, a tangible expansion of production capability that strengthens its position on next?gen defense programs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Defense spending tailwind — Analysts note Kratos could benefit from a proposed increase in U.S. defense budgets, which would boost demand for unmanned systems, hypersonics and other programs where Kratos has exposure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals — Last reported quarter (Nov) showed revenue and EPS beats with year?over?year revenue growth, which underpins the bullish analyst views but is already priced in to some extent.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,000 shares at an average of $120.18 (?$600,900). The sale trimmed his stake by ~4.5%. SEC filing: Jarvis filing
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,676 shares at about $120.18 (~$201,422), a ~2.6% reduction in her holdings. SEC filing: Mendoza filing
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares at an average of $123.30 (~$801,450), reducing his stake by ~2.9%. SEC filing: Carrai filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KTOS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.94.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.44. The company has a market capitalization of $22.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,005.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The business had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.18, for a total transaction of $201,421.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 63,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,618,570.74. This represents a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.30, for a total value of $801,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 219,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,094,065.30. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 911,815 shares of company stock worth $74,226,491 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,409,000 after buying an additional 2,525,921 shares in the last quarter. Rovida Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,315,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,577 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $91,901,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,475,000. 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.