Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with 11 buy recommendations and 2 hold ratings.
• The stock's average 1-year price target is $50.08, with JMP Securities recently raising their target to $70.00.
• Insider selling has occurred, with a senior vice president selling 2,000 shares at an average price of $50.97, while institutional investors own approximately 75.92% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.08.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities set a $70.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of KTOS traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.36. The stock had a trading volume of 3,744,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,261,829. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12 month low of $17.91 and a 12 month high of $61.43. The company has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 456.65 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.90.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $302.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total value of $202,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,514,693.32. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 7,455 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.59 per share, with a total value of $250,413.45. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,396,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,899,600.83. This represents a 0.54% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,352,006. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 202.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.