Marietta Investment Partners LLC Purchases 9,354 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Marietta Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 38.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,864 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,354 shares during the period. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $2,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Ascentis Independent Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors now owns 15,634 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 23.1% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 7,405 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.2% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 121,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,551,000 after acquiring an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth $497,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth $4,508,000. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $100.44.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $55.35 on Monday. 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 current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.69. 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 (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Key Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 295,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,331,920. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total transaction of $2,038,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 309,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,998,136.01. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 161,453 shares of company stock worth $9,561,063. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.