Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' (KTOS) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed its Buy rating on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and kept a $80 price target, implying about 58.8% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Kratos carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $103.41. Several firms recently adjusted their views, including upgrades from JPMorgan and Clear Street.
• Kratos recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $0.16 EPS versus the $0.13 estimate and revenue of $371 million versus the $345 million forecast. Revenue rose 22.6% year over year, though insiders have been selling shares in recent months.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $80.00 price objective on the aerospace company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 58.82% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.41.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,642,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,580,474. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.42. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $43.88 and a 52 week high of $134.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 296.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $86,895.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 64,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,733,414.71. This trade represents a 2.27% 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 link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.37, for a total transaction of $338,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 302,126 shares in the company, valued at $14,613,834.62. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,453 shares of company stock valued at $9,264,423. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $337,565,000 after acquiring an additional 148,622 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $278,331,000 after purchasing an additional 209,189 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,072,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $189,383,000 after buying an additional 247,652 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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