B. Riley Reiterates Buy Rating for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Key Points

• B. Riley has raised its price target for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) from $55.00 to $72.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.71% from the current price.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed a profit of $0.11 earnings per share, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 17.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Insider transactions are notable, with significant share sales from executives, including David M. Carter and Steven S. Fendley, who collectively sold over $500,000 worth of stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by analysts at B. Riley in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $72.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock, up from their prior price target of $55.00. B. Riley's price target indicates a potential upside of 5.59% from the company's previous close.

KTOS has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Benchmark raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.92.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.19. 950,368 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,320,476. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12 month low of $19.69 and a 12 month high of $71.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 3.88. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 677.87 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.20%. The business had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $515,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 384,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,214,990.04. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bobbi Doorenbos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $175,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,786 shares of company stock valued at $4,102,682 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,965 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,769 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during 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 engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.