California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Stock Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316,760 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,552 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.17% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $22,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of KTOS opened at $47.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 281.71 and a beta of 1.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.58 and a 52-week high of $134.00. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $86,895.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 64,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,733,414.71. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.37, for a total transaction of $338,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 302,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,613,834.62. This represents a 2.26% 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 sold 148,036 shares of company stock worth $8,455,857 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Kratos won an approximately $156 million sole-source, single-award IDIQ contract from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Secure Transportation to supply mobile counter-unmanned aircraft systems for “Project Solar Shield,” a meaningful revenue boost and validation of its defense technology. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Several news items highlighted Kratos as one of the leading drone-defense and aerospace contractors, suggesting investors are focused on its exposure to rising global defense spending and growing demand for counter-drone systems. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-style pieces compared KTOS with peers like L3Harris and Ondas, but these were more valuation and strategy debates than new company-specific catalysts. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation-focused article said Kratos looks fairly valued on cash flow but expensive on sales, which may temper some upside enthusiasm but does not change the core contract-driven momentum. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader defense-sector coverage pointed to strong drone demand across the industry, reinforcing the theme behind KTOS’s move rather than adding a separate catalyst. Article title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KTOS shares. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company 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.