Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) had its price target raised by Benchmark from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the aerospace company's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $54.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.25.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ KTOS traded up $5.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $51.71. 9,407,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,086,854. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1 year low of $17.91 and a 1 year high of $52.52. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $39.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 397.80 and a beta of 1.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $302.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $515,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco acquired 7,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.59 per share, with a total value of $250,413.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,396,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,899,600.83. This trade represents a 0.54% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 149,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,373,706 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 129.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 893 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 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.