Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Up 8.5% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) jumped 8.5% in midday trading, reaching as high as $63.59 after closing at $58.43 the previous day.
• Recent analyst sentiment remains positive, with multiple firms reiterating Buy/Strong Buy ratings; the stock currently carries a consensus Moderate Buy and a target price of $96.28.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, posting $0.16 EPS on $371 million in revenue, with revenue up 22.6% year over year, though insider selling and a lofty valuation remain points to watch.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) shares were up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $63.59 and last traded at $63.40. Approximately 4,195,582 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 4,403,485 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 8.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 372.94 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.78.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total transaction of $2,171,295.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 252,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,975,475. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 value of $1,788,716.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $456,480. This represents a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 189,630 shares of company stock worth $13,279,052. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.