KeyCorp Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) had its target price cut by KeyCorp from $130.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the aerospace company’s stock. KeyCorp‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 82.53% from the company’s previous close.

KTOS has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $88.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $70.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.65.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of KTOS opened at $41.09 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.16 and a 200-day moving average of $64.76. The company has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 241.71 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a current ratio of 5.54. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1 year low of $36.37 and a 1 year high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $259,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,744,152.56. The trade was a 3.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total transaction of $48,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 61,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,968,200. This 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 377,013 shares of company stock worth $23,564,182. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,842,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,746,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 623.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 40,339 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 34,761 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $74,520,000 after buying an additional 342,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 37.7% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 447,302 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $19,095,000 after buying an additional 122,532 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.