Why Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc Popped 48% Last Month

Image source: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions.

What: Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc jumped 48% as earnings beat expectations and the company won a number of contract bids.

So what: Fourth-quarter revenue fell 7.6% from a year ago to $177.5 million, and net loss nearly doubled to $4.0 million, or $0.07 per share. But on an adjusted basis the company earned $0.02 per share, which easily topped the $0.11 loss Wall Street expected.

Also during March, the company won a $5.49 million contract for Oriole Thrust Vector Control Systems, an $11.2 million order for satellite and communications products, and a $3.5 million order for specialty products for the U.S. warfighter.

Now what: After a rough start to the year, Kratos has now beaten earnings expectations two straight quarters and returned to around breakeven. Losing less money is good, but it's also concerning that backlog dropped from $1.1 billion a year ago to $914 million to end 2015. I would like to see growth in the backlog and improvement on the GAAP bottom line before considering jumping into the stock.

The article Why Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc Popped 48% Last Month originally appeared on Fool.com.

Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.