Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Trading Up 8.5% – Still a Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)’s share price shot up 8.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $63.59 and last traded at $63.40. 4,195,582 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 4,403,485 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KTOS. BTIG Research dropped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 8.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $11.89 billion, a PE ratio of 372.94 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.78.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $318,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 290,161 shares in the company, valued at $18,494,862.14. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.47, for a total value of $261,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 13,896 shares in the company, valued at $909,771.12. The trade was a 22.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,630 shares of company stock valued at $13,279,052. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,671 shares in the last quarter. BankChampaign National Association purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $276,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $119,000. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.