Inside KTOS’ Breakout Week: Hypersonics, Satellite Contracts And Retail Buzz

Kratos' stock has more than quadrupled in the last 12 months on the back of several defense and government contracts.

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In this photo illustration, a person holds a smartphone displaying the logo of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc.(Photo illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

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Ananya Mariam Rajesh · Stocktwits

Published Feb 20, 2026, 8:41 AM

KTOS
  • The stock rose nearly 2% during overnight trading and is likely on track for its fifth straight session of gains this week.
  • On Wednesday, Kratos announced that it has been awarded a contract through the Department of War’s Joint Hypersonics Transition Office.
  • Kratos on Tuesday said that Airbus Defence and Space has awarded the company a contract to deliver a ground segment for its customer Space Communication Technologies SPC to support the OmanSat-1 software-defined satellite.

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions jumped nearly 19% so far this week, snapping a four-week losing streak after the company won a couple of defense contracts and UBS initiated coverage with a ‘Neutral’ rating.

The stock rose nearly 2% during overnight trading and is likely on track for its fifth straight session of gains this week. Kratos shares have gained more than 39% and more than tripled in 2025 after the Department of Defense’s shift toward emerging technology in defense.

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Riding On Defense Momentum

On Wednesday, Kratos announced that it has been awarded a contract through the Department of War’s Joint Hypersonics Transition Office to support test and evaluation of thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles. Kratos said that it will leverage decades of expertise in hypersonics to analyze various missions and flight environments to understand appropriate testing conditions.

The company will establish standard test conditions and techniques to accelerate materials development, which can be used as a baseline for other similar aerothermal test facilities.

Kratos on Tuesday said that Airbus Defence and Space has awarded the company a contract to deliver a ground segment for its customer Space Communication Technologies (SCT) SPC to support the OmanSat-1 software-defined satellite.

The company will deliver the ground segment that will include the capability to configure and monitor the satellite, optimize and set up the payload using integrated Airbus components, monitor the performance of the entire system from the satellite to the ground, and orchestrate part of the operations.

UBS Initiates Coverage But Flags Valuation

On Wednesday, UBS initiated coverage of Kratos Defense with a ‘Neutral’ rating and $79 price target, according to TheFly. The firm said that the company's growth is priced in at current share levels. Kratos has re-rated to five-times its historical multiple and now trades three-times higher than its historical premium to the primes growth.

UBS said that Kratos is more expensive than Palantir and it prefers to own defense growth at lower valuations.

Retail Traders Turn ‘Extremely Bullish’ 

Retail sentiment on Kratos jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘neutral’ territory a day ago, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

A bullish user on Stocktwits said that the “chart is fun to watch, definitely when you're on the upswing in the rollercoaster.”

In the last 24 hours, the retail message volumes on the stock jumped nearly 68% on Stocktwits.

Shares of Kratos jumped 318% in the last 12 months.

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