Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS opened at $24.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.81 and a beta of 1.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1 year low of $14.58 and a 1 year high of $25.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.61.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $300.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.08 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.19 per share, with a total value of $250,275.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,058,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,366,350.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Eric M. Demarco acquired 12,396 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.19 per share, with a total value of $250,275.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,058,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,366,350.16. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $27,194.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,393 shares in the company, valued at $1,272,297.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,633 shares of company stock valued at $1,751,317 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 113.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 311,594 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,727,000 after acquiring an additional 165,356 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 627.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 49,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 42,817 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 287,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 33,500 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,164,826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $246,824,000 after acquiring an additional 229,472 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 272.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 432,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,655,000 after purchasing an additional 316,500 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.