Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Up 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shot up 4.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $48.92 and last traded at $48.21. Approximately 3,313,203 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 4,538,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 4.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.04 and its 200 day moving average is $75.53. The stock has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 283.59 and a beta of 1.07.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total value of $1,788,716.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,480. This trade represents a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 295,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,331,920. This trade represents a 1.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,036 shares of company stock valued at $8,455,857. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,673,000 after buying an additional 427,396 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6,900.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 176,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,423,000 after buying an additional 174,305 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 34,973 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 714,083 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $54,206,000 after acquiring an additional 281,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $1,821,000. 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.