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

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 23 covering firms, with an average 12-month price target of about $101.35.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.16 versus the expected $0.13 and revenue of $371 million, which beat estimates and rose 22.6% year over year.
• There has been notable insider selling, including transactions by Phillip D. Carrai and Jonah Adelman, while institutional investors continue to hold a large stake, owning 75.92% of the company.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $101.3529.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KTOS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Sunday, May 10th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.72, for a total transaction of $485,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 227,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,028,538.56. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,480. This represents a 79.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 188,278 shares of company stock valued at $11,966,663 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS opened at $56.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 331.41 and a beta of 1.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1-year low of $39.00 and a 1-year high of $134.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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