Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Upgraded at Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $47.59 on Monday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $43.09 and a 52 week high of $134.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 279.94 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.03.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.07% and a net margin of 2.03%.The company had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total value of $19,299,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 761,632 shares in the company, valued at $48,995,786.56. This trade represents a 28.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total transaction of $264,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 285,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,083,654.25. This trade represents a 1.72% 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 90 days, insiders sold 381,688 shares of company stock valued at $23,935,287. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Vision Retirement LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% in the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 61.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense and commercial applications. The company primarily serves the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies, while also supporting allied governments and selected commercial customers.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and ground systems, target drones, tactical drones, satellite communications systems, space-related products, missile defense technology, hypersonic and high-speed systems, radar and command-and-control solutions, and microwave electronics.