StockNews.com Downgrades Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on KTOS. B. Riley cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $25.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.91. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $16.71 and a fifty-two week high of $28.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 252.83 and a beta of 1.02.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total value of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 273,881 shares in the company, valued at $6,288,307.76. This represents a 2.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco acquired 11,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.89 per share, for a total transaction of $250,262.20. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,244 shares in the company, valued at $22,357,397.16. This represents a 1.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,236 shares of company stock worth $1,451,601. Company insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,090 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 582.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.