Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Up 1.9% – Should You Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price was up 1.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $49.19 and last traded at $47.21. 27,807,150 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 515% from the average session volume of 4,522,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.35.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 277.71 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.54. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The business’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $318,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 290,161 shares in the company, valued at $18,494,862.14. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 70,092 shares in the company, valued at $4,146,642.72. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 187,278 shares of company stock worth $11,731,048 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.92% of the stock is 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.