Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Up 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price rose 1.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $49.19 and last traded at $47.21. 27,807,150 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 515% from the average session volume of 4,522,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.35.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.76. The company has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 277.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total transaction of $2,171,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 252,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,975,475. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total value of $1,788,716.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $456,480. This trade represents a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 187,278 shares of company stock valued at $11,731,048 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 35,098 shares in the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,686,000 after purchasing an additional 41,265 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.