Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.00.

KTOS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. B. Riley upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 11,516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $322,217.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,573.70. This trade represents a 48.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco purchased 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $250,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,398,150.70. This represents a 0.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,181 shares of company stock valued at $2,570,686. 2.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,719,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,301,000 after purchasing an additional 701,216 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,340,795 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $114,510,000 after purchasing an additional 307,907 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,544 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $82,883,000 after buying an additional 29,278 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,130,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,576,000 after acquiring an additional 203,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,116,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,204,000 after purchasing an additional 317,305 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $26.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 260.13 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $16.78 and a 52-week high of $35.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.87 and its 200 day moving average is $26.34.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.