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

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

KTOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,739,860.70. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $250,325.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,398,150.70. The trade was a 0.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 103,196 shares of company stock worth $2,962,300. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rovida Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,789,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,944,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 140.5% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,599,740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $42,201,000 after buying an additional 934,455 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.3% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 943,638 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,893,000 after buying an additional 767,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 701,216 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

KTOS opened at $30.68 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.45. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1 year low of $17.05 and a 1 year high of $35.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 306.83 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Company Profile

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.