Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $134.00 and last traded at $128.68, with a volume of 4605336 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $130.72.

Key Headlines Impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Noble Financial raised its FY2026 EPS estimate to $0.54 (from $0.43) and maintains an “Outperform” rating; the firm also released quarterly EPS cadence for FY2026 (Q1 $0.10, Q2 $0.15, Q3 $0.15, Q4 $0.14), which signals improving underlying expectations for revenue/profitability. Noble Financial estimates and coverage summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler initiated coverage with a “Neutral” rating — this neither endorses further upside nor flags fresh downside, but it reduces the breadth of bullish analyst momentum investors were expecting after the stock’s surge. Piper Sandler initiates coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary is calling attention to KTOS’s elevated valuation after the recent share-price surge — analysts and investors are reassessing whether the company’s fundamentals justify the high multiple, which can pressure the stock and trigger short-term profit-taking. Valuation assessment after recent surge

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KTOS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 5.6%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 3.68. The company has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 875.84 and a beta of 1.09.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.01 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The company’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 firm earned $0.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.18, for a total value of $600,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 105,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,669,015.06. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.30, for a total value of $801,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 219,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,094,065.30. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 911,815 shares of company stock worth $74,226,491. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 193.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.