Month: May 2025

Kratos Defense & Security (KTOS) – Some Favorable Tailwinds?

Posted on by cpereira@noblefcm.com


Thursday, May 01, 2025

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) develops and fields transformative, affordable technology, platforms, and systems for United States National Security related customers, allies, and commercial enterprises. Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technologies for these industries are rapidly brought to market through proven commercial and venture capital backed approaches, including proactive research, and streamlined development processes. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we specialize in unmanned systems, satellite communications, cyber security/warfare, microwave electronics, missile defense, hypersonic systems, training and combat systems and next generation turbo jet and turbo fan engine development. For more information go to www.kratosdefense.com.

Joe Gomes, CFA, Managing Director, Equity Research Analyst, Generalist , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

A Trillion Dollard Defense Budget? House Republicans have released legislation that would increase Pentagon spending by $150 billion. The proposal was approved by the House Armed Services Committee and, when combined with the already approved government fiscal year 2025 $886 billion defense budget, the added dollars would bring defense spending to more than $1 trillion for the first time. A significant portion of the recent budget increases target areas in Kratos’ wheelhouse, in our opinion, which could provide additional upside to the Company.

Missile Defense. Approximately $25 billion of the $150 billion proposed increase would be earmarked for the Golden Dome missile defense initiative. Recall, Golden Dome would be a shield intended to protect the continental U.S. against advanced missiles. Golden Dome is another project that aligns with Kratos’ capabilities, in our view.


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Novartis to Acquire Regulus Therapeutics in $1.7 Billion Biotech Buyout

Posted on by slightbourne@noblecapitalmarkets.com
Key Points:
– Novartis to acquire Regulus for up to $1.7B, including $7/share upfront and $7/share tied to farabursen approval.
– Farabursen, a potential first-in-class ADPKD treatment, heads into Phase 3 with FDA alignment.
– Boosts Novartis’s kidney disease pipeline and commitment to innovation in rare conditions.

Novartis AG announced plans to acquire Regulus Therapeutics Inc. in a transaction valued at up to $1.7 billion, reinforcing the Swiss pharmaceutical giant’s strategy to deepen its portfolio in renal and genetic disease treatments. The deal includes an upfront cash payment of $7.00 per share, representing approximately $800 million in equity value, and an additional $7.00 per share tied to a regulatory milestone via a contingent value right (CVR), pending approval of Regulus’s lead drug candidate, farabursen.

Farabursen is being developed as a novel treatment for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a condition with limited current options and significant unmet clinical need. If approved, farabursen could become the first systemic therapy of its kind in this indication, offering a potentially superior safety and efficacy profile compared to existing treatments.

The acquisition reflects a growing trend in the biopharma sector where large-cap pharmaceutical companies pursue innovative pipelines through targeted M&A. In recent quarters, the industry has seen an uptick in transactions focused on small to mid-sized biotech firms that specialize in high-impact therapies for rare or underserved diseases. Regulus’s focus on microRNA-based therapies, a field once viewed as experimental, is now receiving renewed attention as advances in RNA technology improve target precision and therapeutic delivery.

For Novartis, the move expands its nephrology franchise and bolsters its pipeline in genetic disorders, aligning with the company’s long-term innovation strategy. Financially, the deal signals confidence in both Regulus’s platform and farabursen’s development prospects. The 274% premium to Regulus’s 60-day volume-weighted average price underscores the strategic value Novartis sees in the program.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to regulatory approval and the successful tender of a majority of Regulus’s outstanding shares. Once finalized, Regulus will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Novartis, with its operations and development programs integrated into Novartis’s global R&D structure.

The deal may also serve as a bellwether for continued consolidation in biotech, particularly among companies advancing oligonucleotide or RNA-based therapeutics. Investors are likely to see the acquisition as further validation of microRNA platforms, potentially reinvigorating interest in similar early-stage biotech firms.

At a time when cost pressures and generic competition are accelerating across the pharmaceutical landscape, acquiring promising assets with a clear regulatory path remains a preferred strategy for growth. For Regulus, integration with Novartis offers the financial and operational muscle needed to take farabursen through the final stages of development and, if approved, to global markets.

As the biotech sector continues to recalibrate from recent valuation contractions, strategic acquisitions like this illustrate the enduring value of focused innovation, especially in areas with limited treatment alternatives and high unmet demand.