Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Target Lowered at Guggenheim

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Guggenheim from $74.00 to $67.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. Guggenheim‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 76.54% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.45.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 8.1%

NASDAQ KTOS traded up $2.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.95. 1,533,689 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,388,365. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.48 and its 200-day moving average is $62.56. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a twelve month low of $31.57 and a twelve month high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a current ratio of 5.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 314.86 and a beta of 1.18.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The aerospace company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $471.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.40 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.18% and a net margin of 1.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scot Jarvis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,135,310.50. This trade represents a 13.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 300,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total transaction of $19,299,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 761,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,995,786.56. The trade was a 28.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 373,013 shares of company stock valued at $23,340,582. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 164,607 shares during the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 21,357.3% during the third quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC now owns 1,823,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $77,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,370 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $74,520,000 after acquiring an additional 342,789 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 16.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,664,120 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $71,041,000 after acquiring an additional 238,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth about $53,746,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is a defense technology company that develops products and services for U.S. government agencies, national security organizations, and allied governments. Its work spans unmanned systems, satellite communications, microwave electronics, command-and-control systems, and training and simulation.

The company’s offerings include unmanned aerial vehicles and target drones, as well as systems and components used in space and satellite communications and other defense applications.