Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 3,759 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the average volume of 2,397 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KTOS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on 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. BTIG Research began coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, JMP Securities assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total value of $27,270.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,218,605.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total value of $27,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 67,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,218,605.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.76, for a total transaction of $131,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 423,098 shares in the company, valued at $7,937,318.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,720 shares of company stock worth $3,391,521. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 120,800.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 179.1% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $20.01 on Friday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a one year low of $13.13 and a one year high of $22.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.19 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.47.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $277.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.