Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $29.52 and last traded at $28.84, with a volume of 590054 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. B. Riley cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $26.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 287.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Benjamin M. Goodwin sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.71, for a total value of $138,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,034,331.17. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.96, for a total value of $33,820.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,449,801.60. This represents a 2.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 81,358 shares of company stock valued at $2,108,120 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $647,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 249,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,770 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 665,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,501,000 after purchasing an additional 86,567 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,798,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $70,951,000 after buying an additional 304,088 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,258 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 4,638 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.