Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from B. Riley Financial

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) had its price objective reduced by B. Riley Financial from $128.00 to $91.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KTOS. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $41.09 on Friday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12 month low of $36.37 and a 12 month high of $134.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.16 and a 200-day moving average of $64.76. The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of 241.71 and a beta of 1.18.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The business had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director Scot Jarvis sold 10,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total value of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,123 shares in the company, valued at $4,135,310.50. The trade was a 13.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 26,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.25, for a total value of $1,676,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 182,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,516,813. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 377,013 shares of company stock worth $23,564,182. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 61.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% in the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,553 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 128.9% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 427.0% in the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 527 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% 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: Kratos received a $33.6 million NASA-related contract from Sierra Lobo to design and build the power-conversion system for the Space Reactor-1 Freedom spacecraft, strengthening its space and national-security portfolio ahead of its next earnings report. NASA contract announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis points to robust organic growth, strong bookings and production ramp-ups in unmanned systems, propulsion and defense electronics. Kratos’ latest reported revenue rose 30.5% year over year to $458.8 million, while its 1.3x trailing book-to-bill ratio supports future revenue visibility. Seeking Alpha growth analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight potential upside from rising global military spending. B. Riley retained a Buy rating, and the consensus remains “Moderate Buy.” Kratos also has a strong balance sheet, including very low leverage, although its profitability remains modest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are comparing Kratos with larger contractor Lockheed Martin. KTOS offers faster growth exposure but trades at a substantially richer valuation and has less established earnings and cash-flow scale, making the stock more sensitive to execution and interest-rate concerns. Kratos versus Lockheed Martin analysis
• Negative Sentiment: B. Riley lowered its KTOS price target from $128 to $91, while Royal Bank of Canada issued a more pessimistic forecast and previously reduced its target to $55 from $80. Although Buy or Outperform ratings remain, the cuts signal increasing caution about valuation and near-term execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Kratos trades at an elevated earnings multiple despite a net margin of only 2.03% and ongoing investment needs, including negative free cash flow highlighted in recent analysis. This leaves the stock vulnerable to profit-taking after its prior rally.
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Deanna Lund sold 7,000 shares for approximately $280,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature limits the signal, but insider selling may still weigh modestly on sentiment.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology and defense contractor that develops systems and products for national security applications. The company supports the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, national security-related organizations and selected commercial customers, with an emphasis on affordable, rapidly deployable technologies.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and target systems, hypersonic and high-speed systems, rocket and propulsion technologies, satellite communications equipment, microwave electronics, radar and missile-defense systems, electronic warfare solutions, command-and-control systems, and virtual and live training products.