Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

KTOS has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Benchmark upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.75.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS opened at $33.93 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.89 and its 200-day moving average is $29.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 339.33 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.22. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $17.91 and a 52-week high of $36.85.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $302.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.25 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.68% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Eric M. Demarco acquired 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $250,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,398,150.70. This trade represents a 0.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 8,637 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.14, for a total value of $234,408.18. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $331,515.10. This represents a 41.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,168 shares of company stock worth $2,537,940 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 202.3% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. 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 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.