Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Up 8% – Should You Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price shot up 8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $70.97 and last traded at $70.51. 6,096,063 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 4,403,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 515.80 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 4.06, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.02.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The business had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $327.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director Scott I. Anderson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.11, for a total transaction of $1,336,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,574,372.74. This trade represents a 22.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.14, for a total transaction of $390,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 80,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,283,784.38. The trade was a 5.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 380,500 shares of company stock worth $35,313,808 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,665 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,698 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,918 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,945 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.