Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 13,132 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 33% compared to the typical volume of 9,868 call options.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ KTOS traded up $8.63 on Thursday, reaching $65.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,639,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,269,854. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a twelve month low of $35.88 and a twelve month high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. The stock has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a PE ratio of 388.03 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.26.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KTOS. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.28.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider owned 221,550 shares in the company, valued at $11,549,401.50. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total transaction of $54,185.37. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 65,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,530,126.04. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 154,540 shares of company stock valued at $11,689,165 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $337,565,000 after acquiring an additional 148,622 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,345,000 after acquiring an additional 124,607 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $280,402,000 after acquiring an additional 698,778 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,331,000 after acquiring an additional 209,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.