Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Earns Market Outperform Rating from Analysts at JMP Securities

Analysts at JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a "market outperform" rating and a $27.00 price target on the aerospace company's stock. JMP Securities' target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.85% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on KTOS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.38.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $21.80. 1,398,911 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,292,015. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 82.85 and a beta of 0.81. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1 year low of $12.88 and a 1 year high of $22.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.47 and a current ratio of 3.02.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $277.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.48 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 3.43%. The company's revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total transaction of $27,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,637,369.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total transaction of $27,075.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,637,369.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.40, for a total transaction of $60,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 292,944 shares in the company, valued at $5,097,225.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,209,659 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,628,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,990,920 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $80,978,000 after acquiring an additional 195,615 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 56.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,026,556 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,380 shares in the last quarter. Profit Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,608,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 188,105 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,817,000 after acquiring an additional 66,442 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.