Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense shares surged about 15.4%, opening well above the prior close after a gap-up move and trading on heavy volume.
• Recent earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.16 versus $0.13 expected and revenue of $371 million, up 22.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $96.28, even though some firms recently trimmed targets.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $57.30, but opened at $63.96. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares last traded at $64.3520, with a volume of 2,659,290 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on KTOS. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 15.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 386.66 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $578,955.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 234,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,868,388.44. This represents a 2.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.59, for a total transaction of $487,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 358,023 shares in the company, valued at $24,914,820.57. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 154,540 shares of company stock valued at $11,689,165 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc NASDAQ: KTOS is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.