Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Rating Lowered to “Neutral” at B. Riley

B. Riley lowered shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $26.00 price target on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $24.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on KTOS. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.10.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of KTOS stock opened at $23.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 337.00 and a beta of 1.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1-year low of $16.36 and a 1-year high of $25.91. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $300.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.08 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 0.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.19 per share, for a total transaction of $250,275.24. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,058,264 shares in the company, valued at $21,366,350.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $168,070.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 356,414 shares in the company, valued at $8,557,500.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco purchased 12,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 1,058,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,366,350.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,091 shares of company stock valued at $1,509,501. Insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth $264,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 332.4% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 368,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,773,000 after acquiring an additional 283,262 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,027 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 228,059 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 25,703 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.