Wedbush Upgrades Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) to Strong-Buy

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wedbush to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.44.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 6.4%

Shares of KTOS stock opened at $53.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 312.00 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $41.87 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.97.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total value of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 70,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,146,642.72. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.37, for a total transaction of $338,590.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 302,126 shares in the company, valued at $14,613,834.62. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their position. 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 sold 151,778 shares of company stock valued at $9,063,063. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 142.7% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and an $85 price target, with the analyst calling Kratos a “misunderstood” supplier to the broader U.S. defense ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Kratos won an agreement to become the exclusive U.S. manufacturer for Elroy Air, and also disclosed an initial joint venture agreement with Barq Group in Abu Dhabi, boosting its uncrewed systems and international growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm around the proposed Golden Dome missile defense initiative is highlighting Kratos as a potential long-term supplier, supporting the case for future defense spending tied to its scalable technologies. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Defense stocks, including KTOS, also got a lift after AeroVironment’s strong quarterly results signaled healthy demand across the sector. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional commentary from market outlets and analyst roundups continued to spotlight Kratos as one of the notable defense names attracting investor attention, but these items were mainly reiterative rather than new catalysts. Article Title

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.