Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Up 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price rose 4.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $48.92 and last traded at $48.21. Approximately 3,313,203 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 4,538,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 298.97 and a beta of 1.07. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.13, for a total value of $338,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 221,550 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $456,480. The trade was a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 148,036 shares of company stock valued at $8,455,857 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds 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. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $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 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.