Wall Street Zen Downgrades Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) to Sell

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JMP Securities reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Benchmark increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.75.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded up $2.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $38.12. 2,996,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,677,714. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.61. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1-year low of $17.91 and a 1-year high of $39.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.24. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 381.24 and a beta of 1.03.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.68% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $302.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Eric M. Demarco purchased 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $250,325.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,267,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,398,150.70. The trade was a 0.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bobbi Doorenbos sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $175,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 145,617 shares of company stock valued at $4,658,171 in the last ninety days. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $461,000. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 295,980 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,808,000 after acquiring an additional 44,048 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 121.3% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,371 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 16,650 shares during the period. Finally, BXM Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $388,000. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

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.