Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ price target from $80 to $55 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying roughly 35.6% upside from the reported $40.56 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $88.25, despite several recent target reductions.
• Kratos reported quarterly EPS of $0.21 versus the $0.14 estimate and revenue of $458.8 million, up 30.5% year over year; however, insiders sold about $23.5 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $80.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 35.59% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on KTOS. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Guggenheim began coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $75.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.25.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded down $0.75 on Wednesday, reaching $40.56. 570,389 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,338,925. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 239.35 and a beta of 1.11. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $36.37 and a 52 week high of $134.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $46.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.81.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CEO Eric Demarco sold 300,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total transaction of $19,299,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 761,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,995,786.56. The trade was a 28.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total value of $393,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 288,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,180,313.76. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 375,013 shares of company stock worth $23,526,932 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,842,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,746,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 623.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 40,339 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 34,761 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $74,520,000 after acquiring an additional 342,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 37.7% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 447,302 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $19,095,000 after acquiring an additional 122,532 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology and defense contractor that develops systems and products for national security applications. The company supports the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, national security-related organizations and selected commercial customers, with an emphasis on affordable, rapidly deployable technologies.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and target systems, hypersonic and high-speed systems, rocket and propulsion technologies, satellite communications equipment, microwave electronics, radar and missile-defense systems, electronic warfare solutions, command-and-control systems, and virtual and live training products.

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