Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 6.4% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shot up 6.4% on Wednesday after Wedbush upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $54.13 and last traded at $53.04. Approximately 8,212,818 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 78% from the average daily volume of 4,601,558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.86.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on KTOS. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $100.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 295,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,331,920. This represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.13, for a total transaction of $338,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 221,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,549,401.50. This trade represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold a total of 161,453 shares of company stock worth $9,561,063 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos announced an approximately $36 million sole-source contract for a new air defense missile system, adding to backlog and reinforcing near-term revenue visibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and an $85 price target, calling KTOS a “misunderstood” supplier to the broader U.S. defense complex. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Kratos also gained attention after becoming the exclusive U.S. manufacturer for Elroy Air and announcing an initial joint venture framework with Barq Group in Abu Dhabi, both of which broaden its unmanned systems growth opportunity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm around the proposed Golden Dome missile defense initiative is keeping KTOS on watch as a potential beneficiary of future U.S. defense spending. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders Steven Fendley, Deanna H. Lund, and Stacey G. Rock sold shares, but each transaction was made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, so the sales are not a clear signal of weakening fundamentals. Article Title

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth about $119,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 26.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 38,490 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 8,163 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 143.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 35.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 325.59 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.90 and a 200-day moving average of $77.83. 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 (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.