Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ KTOS traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,860,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,501. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1-year low of $16.78 and a 1-year high of $35.66. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $29.87 and its 200-day moving average is $26.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 263.93 and a beta of 1.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.73, for a total transaction of $160,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 267,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,155,834.84. This represents a 2.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $41,940.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,555,442.76. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,181 shares of company stock worth $2,837,986. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rovida Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,789,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,944,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $42,201,000 after buying an additional 934,455 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.3% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 943,638 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $24,893,000 after acquiring an additional 767,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.0% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.