Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $85.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 26.28% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on KTOS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $79.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $67.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 4.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $25.78 and a 52 week high of $134.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.02. The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 517.81 and a beta of 1.22.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 191,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.28, for a total value of $17,306,585.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 687,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,032,922.76. This trade represents a 21.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,092,092.38. This trade represents a 38.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 402,699 shares of company stock worth $36,696,613 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 35,098 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,686,000 after buying an additional 41,265 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is 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.