Truist Financial Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by Truist Financial in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $27.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $25.00. Truist Financial’s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.93% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in 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 note on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KTOS opened at $23.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 72.56 and a beta of 1.02. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.27. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a twelve month low of $14.33 and a twelve month high of $24.08.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.68, for a total value of $158,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 377,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,557,662.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $27,194.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,393 shares in the company, valued at $1,272,297.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.68, for a total value of $158,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 377,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,557,662.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,210 shares of company stock valued at $1,505,072 in the last quarter. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 113.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 311,594 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,727,000 after buying an additional 165,356 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 627.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 49,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 42,817 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 287,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 33,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,164,826 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $246,824,000 after acquiring an additional 229,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 272.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 432,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,655,000 after purchasing an additional 316,500 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.