Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Up 2.3% – Time to Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $91.80 and last traded at $89.53. 2,419,494 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 4,473,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $80.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Truist Financial set a $135.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their target price on 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. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 715.75 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.25 and its 200-day moving average is $87.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 4.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.63% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The firm had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider David M. Carter sold 8,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.40, for a total transaction of $856,164.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 81,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,623,406.40. This represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total value of $1,934,148.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,092,092.38. This trade represents a 38.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 572,263 shares of company stock worth $50,686,947 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,665 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,698 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,918 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,945 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.