Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $58.78, but opened at $61.49. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $82.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $99.00. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares last traded at $59.5620, with a volume of 1,288,134 shares trading hands.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on KTOS. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Clear Str raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total value of $1,788,716.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $456,480. This trade represents a 79.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 290,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,494,862.14. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 217,564 shares of company stock worth $14,576,994. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% in the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 344.51 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.29.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.