Truist Financial Upgrades Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Truist Financial upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) to a "Strong-Buy", joining multiple firms that have recently raised ratings or price targets; MarketBeat shows a consensus of Moderate Buy with a $98.28 target.
• Kratos beat estimates last quarter with EPS $0.18 vs. $0.14 and revenue of $345.1M (+21.9% YoY); the stock opened at $62.05, has a market cap of $11.6B, a very high P/E (~477), and a 12‑month range of $32.85–$134, indicating volatility.
• Insiders sold 173,027 shares (~$14M) in the past 90 days and now own 1.5% of the company, while institutional investors hold about 75.9% of the stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Truist Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on KTOS. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $62.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 477.34 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.16. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12-month low of $32.85 and a 12-month high of $134.00. The company has a current ratio of 4.06, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $345.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $327.51 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.63% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, VP De Burgreen Maria Cervantes sold 6,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.29, for a total transaction of $559,848.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 59,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,301,058.01. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.91, for a total value of $590,915.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 213,325 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,393,375.75. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 173,027 shares of company stock worth $14,045,490. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $337,565,000 after purchasing an additional 148,622 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $278,331,000 after purchasing an additional 209,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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