Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 1.9% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $50.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions traded as high as $44.75 and last traded at $45.18. 555,010 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,026,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.34.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Noble Financial raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.43, for a total transaction of $181,720.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,243 shares in the company, valued at $2,100,819.49. This trade represents a 7.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 2,419 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.87, for a total transaction of $101,283.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 67,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,825,722.56. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 149,572 shares of company stock worth $5,373,706 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 202.3% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 3.8%

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $39.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.45. The company has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 354.03 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.84.

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

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.