Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $86.18, but opened at $92.42. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares last traded at $96.1290, with a volume of 4,012,801 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on KTOS. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $79.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Truist Financial set a $135.00 price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.0%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $98.44 and a 200-day moving average of $85.58. The stock has a market cap of $15.15 billion, a PE ratio of 684.28 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.06 and a quick ratio of 3.46.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 related news, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total transaction of $1,934,148.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,092,092.38. This trade represents a 38.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 8,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.98, for a total transaction of $792,468.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $911,389.96. This trade represents a 46.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 557,907 shares of company stock worth $48,954,443 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,577 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $337,565,000 after buying an additional 148,622 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,345,000 after buying an additional 124,607 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $280,402,000 after buying an additional 698,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $278,331,000 after buying an additional 209,189 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.