Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions' stock reached a new 52-week high at $89.41, with recent trading closing at $88.30 and significant trading volume of 508,133 shares.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about the company's future growth, with upgraded price targets from several brokerages, including Royal Bank of Canada's target of $65.00 and B. Riley's target of $72.00.
• The company reported a 17.1% increase in revenue year-over-year for the last quarter, achieving $351.50 million and surpassing expectations by $45.83 million.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $89.41 and last traded at $88.30, with a volume of 508133 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KTOS. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 3.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.88, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 894.05 and a beta of 1.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.20%.The firm had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.82, for a total value of $412,920.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 258,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,583.86. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 5,758 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.54, for a total value of $377,379.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,692 shares in the company, valued at $635,213.68. This represents a 37.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,430 shares of company stock worth $4,422,742 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Rovida Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $82,315,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,447,687 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $488,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,179 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,118,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,163,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $64,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,585 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,577 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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