Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $54.00 to $70.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the aerospace company's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of KTOS stock traded up $0.18 on Monday, reaching $58.96. 2,037,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,247,731. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.39. The company has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 453.53 and a beta of 1.06. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.91 and a twelve month high of $61.43.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $302.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.25 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The company's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 318,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,033,416.50. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.97, for a total transaction of $101,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 65,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,340,318.95. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,586,226. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 295,980 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,808,000 after purchasing an additional 44,048 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,407,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,039,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,221,860 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $36,277,000 after purchasing an additional 24,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.

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.