Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) were up 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $54.09 and last traded at $53.69. Approximately 2,128,912 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 4,399,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.47.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 1.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 315.82 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.54 and a quick ratio of 4.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.73.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The firm had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total value of $393,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 288,111 shares in the company, valued at $16,180,313.76. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.25, for a total transaction of $1,676,125.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 182,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,516,813. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 433,688 shares of company stock valued at $26,990,882 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% in the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth about $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.