Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 7.2% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) rose 7.2% on Thursday, trading as high as $58.89 amid slightly lighter-than-average volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive despite some lower price targets: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $96.28, though several firms recently trimmed their estimates.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with $0.16 EPS and $371 million in revenue, up 22.6% year over year; meanwhile, insiders have been selling shares recently.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) traded up 7.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $58.89 and last traded at $58.78. 3,938,320 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 4,357,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research lowered their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 7.2%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. The company has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 345.76 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 70,092 shares in the company, valued at $4,146,642.72. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total transaction of $1,788,716.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,480. This trade represents a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 217,564 shares of company stock valued at $14,576,994. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,830 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,665 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,698 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,918 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,945 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

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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