Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JMP Securities Analyst Says

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) had its price objective hoisted by JMP Securities from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market outperform rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on KTOS. B. Riley upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.30.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of KTOS opened at $32.54 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.45. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12-month low of $16.78 and a 12-month high of $35.66. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 325.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $275.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $278.47 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 3.68%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 265,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,637,475. This represents a 1.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.89, for a total value of $197,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,632,592.97. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 98,428 shares of company stock worth $2,824,956. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $28,944,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $1,156,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 11,708 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,513,437 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,924,000 after buying an additional 14,588 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.