Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Up 7.4% – Time to Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares were up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $38.13 and last traded at $37.69. Approximately 6,392,351 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 45% from the average daily volume of 4,413,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.10.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News Roundup

Investors following KTOS have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos’ Q3 revenue rose 35.7% year over year to $471.8 million, and reported non-GAAP EPS of $0.24 beat consensus. Its approximately $495 million next-quarter revenue outlook was also above analysts’ expectations. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report said Kratos also has a contract to supply Q/V/Ka-band gateway antenna systems for Gulf Space Technology’s next-generation high-throughput satellite; the article provided no contract value or timing details. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target from $90 to $80 but kept an Overweight rating. Guggenheim, Canaccord Genuity and UBS also reported target cuts, which could add pressure to sentiment despite the operational news. Barclays report Guggenheim report Canaccord report UBS report

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $128.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $104.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 5.42 and a quick ratio of 4.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 305.75 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.76.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The aerospace company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $471.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.86, for a total transaction of $259,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,744,152.56. The trade was a 3.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 shares were 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 $16,180,313.76. The trade was a 2.37% 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. Insiders sold 373,013 shares of company stock valued at $23,340,582 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vision Retirement LLC raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 427.0% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 527 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 333.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.