Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.67.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KTOS. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 103,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,739,860.70. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.48, for a total value of $158,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 261,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,930,663.36. This represents a 2.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 103,196 shares of company stock worth $2,962,300. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,719,508 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,301,000 after buying an additional 701,216 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,340,795 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $114,510,000 after acquiring an additional 307,907 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,544 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,883,000 after acquiring an additional 29,278 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,130,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $82,576,000 after purchasing an additional 203,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,116,164 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $82,204,000 after purchasing an additional 317,305 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.5 %

KTOS stock opened at $30.68 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 306.83 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.61. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12 month low of $17.05 and a 12 month high of $35.66.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.