Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Up 6.1% – Here’s Why

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) was up 6.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $118.14 and last traded at $118.06. Approximately 3,079,019 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 4,566,539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KTOS shares. KeyCorp started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 6.1%

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 stock has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 908.22 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.03.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.18, for a total transaction of $600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 105,417 shares in the company, valued at $12,669,015.06. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total value of $1,934,148.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,092,092.38. This represents a 38.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 904,815 shares of company stock worth $73,587,741. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,665 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% during the second quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.