Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Target Lowered at B. Riley Financial

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at B. Riley Financial from $128.00 to $91.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. B. Riley Financial‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 114.58% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on KTOS. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.7%

KTOS opened at $42.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 251.38 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a current ratio of 5.54. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a twelve month low of $36.37 and a twelve month high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The business had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.25, for a total transaction of $1,676,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 182,084 shares in the company, valued at $11,516,813. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total transaction of $393,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 288,111 shares in the company, valued at $16,180,313.76. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 382,013 shares of company stock worth $23,806,932. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,842,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $53,746,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 623.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 40,339 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 34,761 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $74,520,000 after purchasing an additional 342,789 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 447,302 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $19,095,000 after buying an additional 122,532 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology and defense contractor that develops systems and products for national security applications. The company supports the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, national security-related organizations and selected commercial customers, with an emphasis on affordable, rapidly deployable technologies.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and target systems, hypersonic and high-speed systems, rocket and propulsion technologies, satellite communications equipment, microwave electronics, radar and missile-defense systems, electronic warfare solutions, command-and-control systems, and virtual and live training products.