Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.2941.

KTOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ KTOS opened at $46.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 270.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $45.58 and a 52-week high of $134.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.76.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $201,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 66,238 shares in the company, valued at $3,341,707.10. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $86,895.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 64,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,733,414.71. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 148,036 shares of company stock worth $8,455,857 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% in the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.