Bard Associates Inc. Has $5.37 Million Stock Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Bard Associates Inc. lowered its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 70,698 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 11,060 shares during the period. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions makes up about 1.4% of Bard Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Bard Associates Inc.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $5,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 148,622 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 124,607 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 209,189 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KTOS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.17.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $57.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 339.71 and a beta of 1.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.00 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.13.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total transaction of $236,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 70,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,146,642.72. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.47, for a total value of $261,880.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,771.12. This represents a 22.35% 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 217,564 shares of company stock valued at $14,576,994 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.