Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $58.78, but opened at $61.49. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $82.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $99.00. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions shares last traded at $59.5620, with a volume of 1,288,134 shares changing hands.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott I. Anderson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.11, for a total value of $1,336,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,334 shares in the company, valued at $4,574,372.74. The trade was a 22.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total value of $2,171,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 252,500 shares in the company, valued at $17,975,475. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 217,564 shares of company stock valued at $14,576,994. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 143.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 35.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares in the last quarter. BankChampaign National Association purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth about $276,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth about $119,000. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth about $236,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 0.2%

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 company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 344.51 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.56 and a 200 day moving average of $80.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.