Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions gapped up sharply, opening at $50.11 after closing at $46.95 and last trading near $50.91. The move came alongside heavy volume of about 1.2 million shares.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with multiple analysts issuing Buy or better ratings and a consensus target price of about $101.35. Recent moves include JPMorgan upgrading the stock to overweight, while Canaccord and Truist also maintained bullish views.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.16 EPS on $371 million in revenue, above estimates and up 22.6% year over year. Despite strong growth, insiders have been selling shares, and the stock still trades well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $46.95, but opened at $50.11. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares last traded at $50.9140, with a volume of 1,201,993 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.35.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 288.84 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $57.93 and its 200 day moving average is $78.34.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,417 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $411,150.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 75,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,701,835.70. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total value of $1,788,716.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,480. The trade was a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 180,278 shares of company stock worth $11,243,918. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $247,409,000 after buying an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $120,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573,123 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $104,807,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $280,402,000 after acquiring an additional 698,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,398,525 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $106,162,000 after purchasing an additional 556,036 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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