Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price was up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $73.77 and last traded at $72.45. Approximately 2,456,100 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 3,609,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KTOS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, August 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $78.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.36.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a current ratio of 4.43. The stock has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 724.57 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.64.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.20%.The company had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $473,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,441 shares in the company, valued at $23,412,482.78. This trade represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP De Burgreen Maria Cervantes sold 6,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.80, for a total transaction of $437,227.20. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 53,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,741,908.20. This represents a 10.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,716 shares of company stock valued at $6,608,725. 2.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. CWM LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Red Mountain Financial LLC lifted 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. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.2% during 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 period. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.7% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.