Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Up 6.7% – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS – Get Free Report) traded up 6.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $78.32 and last traded at $77.68. 2,488,437 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 3,533,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KTOS shares. BNP Paribas set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned 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 $82.06.

Read Our Latest Report on KTOS

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.30, a quick ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.06. The company has a market cap of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of 597.58 and a beta of 1.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 1.56%.Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, Director Amy Zegart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.17, for a total value of $741,700.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.80, for a total value of $2,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $699,230.40. The trade was a 76.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 448,866 shares of company stock worth $33,858,748 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.

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