Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Receives $23.50 Average PT from Analysts

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.50.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. JMP Securities started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, June 28th.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS opened at $21.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 65.91 and a beta of 1.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $13.98 and a 52-week high of $23.23.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 0.89%. The company had revenue of $300.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.19 per share, with a total value of $250,275.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,058,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,366,350.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.19 per share, with a total value of $250,275.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,058,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,366,350.16. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.68, for a total value of $158,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 377,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,557,662.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,355 shares of company stock valued at $1,545,240 in the last ninety days. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $102,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,540 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 8,969 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 51.5% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,543 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,438,000 after purchasing an additional 245,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 77,516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 9,032 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.