Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Up 3.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares rose by 3.8% to close at $67.87, following a previous daily trading decline of 74% in volume compared to its average.
• Various research firms have adjusted their ratings on Kratos, with Goldman Sachs upgrading its rating to "buy" and setting a price target of $52.00, while the consensus rating remains at "Moderate Buy."
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Kratos reported an EPS of $0.11, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 17.1% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) shares were up 3.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $67.51 and last traded at $67.87. Approximately 854,560 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 3,315,858 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KTOS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday. Finally, Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.92.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 4.3%

The firm has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 682.46 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50-day moving average is $49.34 and its 200-day moving average is $37.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a current ratio of 4.43.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $351.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.67 million. During the same period 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 318,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,033,416.50. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total transaction of $515,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 384,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,214,990.04. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 105,572 shares of company stock worth $4,294,256. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Red Mountain Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.3% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.7% during the second quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,965 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,769 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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