Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Up 1.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock increased by 1.5% to $65.25, despite experiencing a significant drop in trading volume, with only 753,339 shares traded compared to an average of 3,346,324 shares.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Kratos, with Truist Financial and Goldman Sachs both setting target prices of $52.00, while B. Riley increased theirs to $72.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• In its most recent earnings report, Kratos exceeded expectations by posting an EPS of $0.11 against a consensus estimate of $0.09 and reported a revenue increase of 17.1% year-over-year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) shot up 1.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $65.84 and last traded at $65.25. 753,339 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 3,346,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on KTOS. Truist Financial upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Noble Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.64.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 1.0%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 3.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 647.61 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.42, for a total value of $308,520.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 270,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,888,747.68. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.74, for a total value of $367,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 367,502 shares in the company, valued at $13,502,023.48. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,986 shares of company stock worth $3,620,588 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth about $30,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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