Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Shares Sold by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lessened its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 24.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 888,935 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 290,353 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 0.47% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $62,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $120,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,123 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $104,807,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,398,525 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $106,162,000 after purchasing an additional 556,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on KTOS shares. Truist Financial raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.44.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $55.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 325.59 and a beta of 1.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.81 and a 12 month high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.64 and its 200-day moving average is $77.67.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Kratos Defense & Security Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos won an approximately $36 million sole-source contract for a new air defense missile system, adding a near-term revenue catalyst and reinforcing its position in defense modernization. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) to Strong Buy, which boosted investor confidence in the stock’s longer-term outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader defense-sector enthusiasm, including renewed attention on drone and missile-defense names, has helped support sentiment in KTOS. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders Steven Fendley, Deanna H. Lund, and Stacey Rock disclosed stock sales, but each transaction was made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, making them less informative about operational prospects. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total value of $2,038,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 309,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,998,136.01. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.13, for a total transaction of $338,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 221,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,549,401.50. This trade represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 161,453 shares of company stock worth $9,561,063. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.