Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. The firm currently has a $82.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 39.50% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Clear Str upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.17.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS stock opened at $58.78 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 345.76 and a beta of 1.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $39.00 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott I. Anderson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.11, for a total transaction of $1,336,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,574,372.74. This represents a 22.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $578,955.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 234,292 shares in the company, valued at $20,868,388.44. This represents a 2.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 217,564 shares of company stock valued at $14,576,994. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 143.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 35.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the period. BankChampaign National Association acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth $276,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth $119,000. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth $236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.