Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ (KTOS) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at Benchmark in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $25.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 32.59% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 9.1 %

Shares of KTOS opened at $18.86 on Thursday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $12.12 and a 52 week high of $21.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.44.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $273.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $253.39 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a positive return on equity of 3.01% and a negative net margin of 0.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total value of $27,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,218,605.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total value of $27,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 67,030 shares in the company, valued at $1,218,605.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 214,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,295,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,538 shares of company stock worth $763,479. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 57,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 190,604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,332 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,395 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGL Partners LLC grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 51,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. 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 operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.