Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading 1.6% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s stock price was up 1.6% during trading on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $112.00 to $134.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions traded as high as $121.57 and last traded at $119.72. Approximately 4,094,452 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 4,750,034 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.86.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KTOS. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total value of $1,934,148.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,092,092.38. The trade was a 38.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 8,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.98, for a total value of $792,468.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,802 shares in the company, valued at $911,389.96. This trade represents a 46.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 906,079 shares of company stock worth $73,343,943. Insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Opened a 55,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art hypersonic system manufacturing and payload integration facility in Princess Anne, MD — expands capacity to support MACH‑TB 2.0 and work for the Navy, Air Force, DARPA and MDA, strengthening Kratos’ addressable market in hypersonics and launch/test support. GlobeNewswire: Princess Anne facility
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Birmingham operations with a new 40,000 sq. ft. facility — further build‑out of U.S. defense industrial base capacity that supports production scale-up for unmanned systems and related programs. Business Insider: Birmingham expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target upgrades — Citizens Jmp raised its target to $125 (market outperform), and other firms have lifted targets/rating recently, supporting bullish sentiment and providing a near-term catalyst for institutional and retail buying. TickerReport: Analyst target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage labels KTOS a top defense pick (e.g., “strong buy” mentions) — helpful for retail visibility but not a concrete company-level catalyst. MSN: Strong buy mention
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest report shows reported zero shares — likely a reporting anomaly rather than a genuine change in bearish positioning; not an actionable signal by itself.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by Stacey G. Rock — filings show sales of 16,568 shares (avg ~$116.74) on Jan 12 and 4,000 shares (avg ~$105.37) on Jan 8, materially reducing her holdings; large insider sales can concern some investors about insider sentiment or liquidity needs. SEC filing: SEC filing. Coverage: AmericanBankingNews: Insider sells

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162,577 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.2% in the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,507,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $209,382,000 after purchasing an additional 818,104 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 8.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,949,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $183,490,000 after purchasing an additional 301,135 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $280,402,000 after buying an additional 698,778 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $278,331,000 after buying an additional 209,189 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a current ratio of 4.30. The company has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a PE ratio of 920.99 and a beta of 1.09.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 1.56%.The firm had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.