Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 7.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price rose 7.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $58.89 and last traded at $58.78. Approximately 3,938,320 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 4,357,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Clear Str raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 7.2%

The firm has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 345.76 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $62.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director Scott I. Anderson sold 15,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.11, for a total value of $1,336,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 51,334 shares in the company, valued at $4,574,372.74. The trade was a 22.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total transaction of $1,788,716.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,480. The trade was a 79.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 217,564 shares of company stock valued at $14,576,994. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 35,098 shares during the last quarter. Amundi bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth approximately $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,686,000 after buying an additional 41,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.