Kratos Defense (KTOS) jumps 6.7% as investors focus on recent contract wins and fresh growth outlook

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS) is up 6.7% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to a string of recent company-announced defense contract awards and an upbeat growth narrative following Kratos’ latest full-year results and 2026 outlook. The rally may also reflect investors looking past recent capital-raising and M&A activity and instead emphasizing Kratos’ positioning in hypersonics, counter-UAS, and other priority defense areas.

Details:

Kratos disclosed a February 18, 2026 contract award through the U.S. government’s Joint Hypersonics Transition Office focused on testing and evaluating thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles.

Kratos disclosed a March 3, 2026 production contract/order of about $7 million for a Counter-UAS system designed to detect, track, and classify threats such as drones and cruise missiles.

In its fourth quarter and full-year 2025 results release, Kratos highlighted strong quarterly performance and issued 2026 revenue guidance implying double-digit organic growth.

Separately, a March 2026 Form 8-K described the closing of Kratos’ Orbit Technologies acquisition, which may be reinforcing expectations for expanded capabilities and scale.

Sources:

Kratos Defense (Newsroom), SEC, Investing.com

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$KTOS Insider Trading Activity

$KTOS insiders have traded $KTOS stock on the open market 186 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 186 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $KTOS stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

ERIC M DEMARCO (President & CEO) has made 0 purchases and 13 sales selling 800,000 shares for an estimated $63,381,568.
DEANNA H LUND (EVP & CFO) has made 0 purchases and 37 sales selling 80,000 shares for an estimated $6,264,749.
WILLIAM A HOGLUND sold 75,000 shares for an estimated $5,576,070
STACEY G ROCK (President, KTT Division) has made 0 purchases and 29 sales selling 43,029 shares for an estimated $4,215,258.
STEVEN S. FENDLEY (President, US Division) has made 0 purchases and 15 sales selling 42,000 shares for an estimated $3,688,046.
DAVID M CARTER (President, DRSS Division) has made 0 purchases and 40 sales selling 32,123 shares for an estimated $2,930,113.
PHILLIP D CARRAI (President, STC Division) has made 0 purchases and 21 sales selling 31,000 shares for an estimated $2,861,816.
SCOT B JARVIS has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 25,000 shares for an estimated $2,517,299.
JONAH ADELMAN (President, ME Division) sold 30,000 shares for an estimated $2,243,877
SCOTT I ANDERSON has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 18,901 shares for an estimated $1,405,852.
THOMAS E IV MILLS (President, C5ISR Division) has made 0 purchases and 12 sales selling 14,281 shares for an estimated $1,317,904.
AMY ZEGART sold 10,000 shares for an estimated $741,671
MARIE MENDOZA (SVP & General Counsel) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 7,591 shares for an estimated $694,383.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$KTOS Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 329 institutional investors add shares of $KTOS stock to their portfolio, and 369 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

BLACKROCK, INC. added 4,165,915 shares (+17.2%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $316,234,607
FULLER & THALER ASSET MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 2,344,740 shares (-99.5%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $177,989,213
ROVIDA ADVISORS INC. removed 1,773,655 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2025, for an estimated $162,058,857
CORIENT PRIVATE WEALTH LLC added 1,573,123 shares (+7701.6%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $119,415,766
PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/ removed 1,342,438 shares (-65.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $101,904,468
NORGES BANK added 1,257,133 shares (+1017.6%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $95,428,966
MACQUARIE GROUP LTD removed 1,113,933 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $84,558,654

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$KTOS Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $KTOS in the last several months. We have seen 9 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Goldman Sachs issued a "Buy" rating on 01/20/2026
Jones Trading issued a "Buy" rating on 01/05/2026
Keybanc issued a "Overweight" rating on 12/19/2025
B. Riley Securities issued a "Buy" rating on 12/01/2025
BTIG issued a "Buy" rating on 11/06/2025
Truist Securities issued a "Buy" rating on 10/15/2025
Canaccord Genuity issued a "Buy" rating on 10/09/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $KTOS, check out Quiver Quantitative's $KTOS forecast page.

$KTOS Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $KTOS recently. We have seen 12 analysts offer price targets for $KTOS in the last 6 months, with a median target of $125.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Andre Madrid from BTIG set a target price of $115.0 on 02/24/2026
Austin Moeller from Canaccord Genuity set a target price of $125.0 on 02/24/2026
Gavin Parsons from UBS set a target price of $79.0 on 02/18/2026
Michael Leshock from Keybanc set a target price of $130.0 on 01/28/2026
Clarke Jeffries from Piper Sandler set a target price of $99.0 on 01/22/2026
Noah Poponak from Goldman Sachs set a target price of $125.0 on 01/20/2026
Jonathan Siegmann from Stifel set a target price of $134.0 on 01/13/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.