Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Climb 1.9% – Still a Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares rose 1.9% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $41.72 and last traded at $40.99. 3,226,426 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 4,341,057 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.23.

Key Headlines Impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 adjusted EPS was $0.24, above the $0.21 consensus and up from $0.14 a year earlier. Revenue rose 35.7% to $471.8 million, while bookings reached $1.037 billion and the consolidated book-to-bill ratio was 2.2 to 1—supportive signs of growth and demand. Kratos Q3 financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue guidance of $480 million–$510 million has a $495 million midpoint, slightly above analysts’ $493.5 million estimate. Benzinga also described the update as lifting the 2026 outlook. Kratos outlook report
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 revenue was nearly exactly in line with estimates, and full-year revenue guidance was about $1.8 billion, matching consensus. Zacks Q3 metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the adjusted-earnings beat, Kratos recorded a small GAAP net loss. The Q4 revenue guidance range also has a lower bound below consensus, which may temper the otherwise positive outlook. AP Q3 earnings snapshot

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KTOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, October 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.65.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.03. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The aerospace company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.07% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $471.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.25, for a total transaction of $1,676,125.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 182,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,516,813. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total transaction of $393,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 288,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,180,313.76. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 373,013 shares of company stock worth $23,340,582 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. B&D White Capital Company LLC boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 21,357.3% in the 3rd quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC now owns 1,823,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $77,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,370 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,664,120 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $71,041,000 after purchasing an additional 238,611 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,515,997 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $106,893,000 after purchasing an additional 164,607 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at $53,746,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,520,000 after purchasing an additional 342,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology and defense contractor that develops systems and products for national security applications. The company supports the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, national security-related organizations and selected commercial customers, with an emphasis on affordable, rapidly deployable technologies.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and target systems, hypersonic and high-speed systems, rocket and propulsion technologies, satellite communications equipment, microwave electronics, radar and missile-defense systems, electronic warfare solutions, command-and-control systems, and virtual and live training products.