Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Trims Stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC reduced its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 35.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 17,524 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $2,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 35,098 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $11,686,000 after acquiring an additional 41,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KTOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.35.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $56.34 on Wednesday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.00 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 331.41 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.91. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total transaction of $2,171,295.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 252,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,975,475. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total value of $2,038,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 309,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,998,136.01. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 188,278 shares of company stock worth $11,966,663. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.