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

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

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Raymond James raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JMP Securities initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $20.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 61.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.49. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a twelve month low of $13.98 and a twelve month high of $22.96.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The firm had revenue of $300.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.68, for a total transaction of $158,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 377,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,557,662.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired 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 approximately $21,366,350.16. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 sold a total of 170,220 shares of company stock worth $3,676,291 in the last quarter. 2.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position 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 valued at $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 9,032 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $260,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 322.5% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 48,909 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 37,332 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 125.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 20,635 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at $61,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.