Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $11.50 to $14.00 in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $15.79.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $12.54. 2,427,845 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 909,209. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of -43.24 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52 week low of $8.90 and a 52 week high of $22.26.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.01. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a positive return on equity of 1.46% and a negative net margin of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $249.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Benjamin M. Goodwin sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.77, for a total transaction of $102,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $183,504.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $12,760,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,282,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 3,940,085 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,677,000 after buying an additional 1,153,176 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,561,512 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $113,900,000 after buying an additional 1,134,464 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,696,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,543,000 after buying an additional 877,043 shares during the period. 83.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc provides mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. Its products include microwave electronic products, satellite communications, modular systems, and rocket support operating. The company was founded on December 19, 1994 and is headquartered in Round Rock, TX.