Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Price Target Raised to $65.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating, indicating a potential upside of 1.72% from the previous close.
• Latest earnings showed a profit of $0.11 per share, surpassing expectations, along with a 17.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own 75.92% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' stock, reflecting strong interest among hedge funds and other major investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $50.00 to $65.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the aerospace company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.72% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.33.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 8.2%

Shares of KTOS traded up $4.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.90. The company had a trading volume of 5,268,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,299,587. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 491.49 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $48.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $19.36 and a 52-week high of $66.13.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $351.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.67 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.85% and a net margin of 1.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 7,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.59 per share, for a total transaction of $250,413.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $515,550.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 384,492 shares in the company, valued at $13,214,990.04. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 145,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,644,656. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.3% during the second quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 240,436 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $11,168,000 after acquiring an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Garnet Equity Capital Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. Garnet Equity Capital Holdings Inc. now owns 326,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $15,143,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 37,296 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 4,916 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,949,763 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $183,490,000 after purchasing an additional 301,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.

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