Canaccord analyst Ken Herbert met with Kratos Defense management and came away with reinforced conviction about the company's revenue upside from both the legacy target drone business and the emerging tactical drone opportunity. He also sees the company taking steps on improving margins and execution upside. Herbert reiterated his Buy rating and $15 price target on Kratos Defense shares.

Raymond James analyst Brian Gesuale upgraded Kratos Defense to Strong Buy from Outperform with a price target of $27, up from $20. Drones and air defense demand has accelerated with the ongoing and escalating conflicts globally, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says drone and loitering munitions adoption has accelerated "well beyond the theater of operations" given the success of Switchblade and other technologies in the field. It believes we are in the very early stages of a generational upgrade to air defense systems globally.