Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms Buy Rating for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $80.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 58.82% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.41.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $50.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,642,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,580,474. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $43.88 and a 52 week high of $134.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $56.18 and its 200-day moving average is $77.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. The firm has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 296.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $233,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,600 shares in the company, valued at $480,000. This trade represents a 32.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $86,895.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 64,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,733,414.71. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 157,453 shares of company stock valued at $9,264,423 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during 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. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.