Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 4.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price rose 4.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $79.73 and last traded at $79.29. Approximately 2,163,619 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 1,923,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KTOS. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $78.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.53.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 609.97 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.50.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The firm had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.80, for a total value of $2,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,348 shares in the company, valued at $699,230.40. This represents a 76.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.08, for a total transaction of $2,222,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 273,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,952.80. This trade represents a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 663,865 shares of company stock valued at $50,935,776. Insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 193.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during 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.