Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Up 4.4% – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price shot up 4.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $58.88 and last traded at $55.35. 6,693,360 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 45% from the average daily volume of 4,618,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.04.

Trending Headlines about Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos won an approximately $36 million sole-source contract for a new air defense missile system, adding a near-term revenue catalyst and reinforcing its position in defense modernization. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) to Strong Buy, which boosted investor confidence in the stock’s longer-term outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader defense-sector enthusiasm, including renewed attention on drone and missile-defense names, has helped support sentiment in KTOS. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders Steven Fendley, Deanna H. Lund, and Stacey Rock disclosed stock sales, but each transaction was made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, making them less informative about operational prospects. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KTOS shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $100.44.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 325.59 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.64 and a 200-day moving average of $77.67.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.13, for a total value of $338,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 221,550 shares in the company, valued at $11,549,401.50. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 295,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,331,920. This represents a 1.67% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 161,453 shares of company stock valued at $9,561,063 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 35,098 shares in the last quarter. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 41,265 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.