Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 29.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,162,577 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 3.31% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $236,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth about $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $69.14 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.83. The company has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 691.47 and a beta of 1.11. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.90 and a 12-month high of $112.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.88, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.20%.The business had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.03, for a total value of $460,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 308,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,351,590.07. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 5,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.54, for a total transaction of $377,379.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,213.68. This represents a 37.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 85,124 shares of company stock worth $6,817,388 over the last ninety days. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on KTOS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.