Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $134.00 and last traded at $128.68, with a volume of 4605336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KTOS. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Jones Trading initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas set a $80.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.6%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 989.92 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 1.56%.The company had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 30,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 273,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,244,952.80. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William A. Hoglund sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total transaction of $5,576,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 147,193 shares in the company, valued at $10,943,799.55. This represents a 33.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 911,815 shares of company stock worth $74,226,491 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 57.7% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,673 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,732,000 after buying an additional 26,946 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 98,033 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,552,000 after acquiring an additional 13,345 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,507,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $209,382,000 after purchasing an additional 818,104 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 25.0% during the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 22,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 4,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Wealth Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at $227,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.