Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Up 2.4% – Should You Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price shot up 2.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $49.39 and last traded at $48.59. Approximately 3,456,146 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 4,326,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KTOS. Wedbush initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $135.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 285.82 and a beta of 1.11.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.07% and a net margin of 2.03%.The firm had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total transaction of $393,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 288,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,180,313.76. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total transaction of $48,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 61,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,968,200. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 389,188 shares of company stock valued at $24,294,682 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $337,565,000 after acquiring an additional 148,622 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,458,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,683,000 after acquiring an additional 476,049 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,515,997 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $106,893,000 after acquiring an additional 164,607 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,398,525 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $106,162,000 after purchasing an additional 556,036 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,807,000. 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 is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense and commercial applications. The company primarily serves the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies, while also supporting allied governments and selected commercial customers.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and ground systems, target drones, tactical drones, satellite communications systems, space-related products, missile defense technology, hypersonic and high-speed systems, radar and command-and-control solutions, and microwave electronics.