Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.14.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KTOS. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.76, for a total value of $131,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 423,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,937,318.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total value of $27,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,713 shares in the company, valued at $1,637,369.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.76, for a total value of $131,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 423,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,937,318.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,538 shares of company stock worth $773,419 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $11,198,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 121.4% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 356,163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,546,000 after purchasing an additional 195,290 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 49,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 13,420 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 142,005 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,610,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,883 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 4,765 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS stock opened at $19.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1-year low of $12.88 and a 1-year high of $21.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.54. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -328.83 and a beta of 0.81.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $277.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.48 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a positive return on equity of 3.01% and a negative net margin of 0.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.