Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Reaches New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions reached a new 52-week high, trading at $62.80 during mid-day, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for the company, with Stifel Nicolaus increasing it to $70.00 and Royal Bank Of Canada to $50.00, indicating strong market confidence.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with key executives selling shares at significant average prices, leading to a decrease in ownership for those insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $62.80 and last traded at $62.06, with a volume of 598935 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $46.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 452.61 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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 transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $247,904.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 318,766 shares in the company, valued at $12,033,416.50. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 145,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,644,656. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,229 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 132,117 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 30,220 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 373,974 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $9,865,000 after acquiring an additional 124,193 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $5,183,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,379 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 2,992 shares in the last quarter. 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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