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

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.67.

A number of research firms have commented on KTOS. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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 report on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total transaction of $49,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 61,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,340.60. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $232,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 365,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,118,686.76. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,196 shares of company stock valued at $3,144,160 over the last 90 days. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $461,000. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.0% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 665,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,501,000 after buying an additional 86,567 shares during the period. MRA Advisory Group purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $448,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 121.3% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 16,650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KTOS opened at $30.68 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 306.83 and a beta of 1.12. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $17.05 and a 52 week high of $35.66.

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.