Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 32,315 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 29.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 140,856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 32,315 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $7,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5,429.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,840,811 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $540,523,000 after buying an additional 10,644,746 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $337,565,000 after buying an additional 148,622 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake 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 worth $251,345,000 after purchasing an additional 124,607 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $278,331,000 after buying an additional 209,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,072,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $189,383,000 after acquiring an additional 247,652 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 0.6%

KTOS stock opened at $46.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 274.65 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.02 and its 200-day moving average is $62.16. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.09 and a twelve month high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The firm had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, Director Scot Jarvis sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,135,310.50. This trade represents a 13.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.13, for a total value of $329,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 295,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,909,005.60. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 389,688 shares of company stock valued at $24,397,492 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.47.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense and commercial applications. The company primarily serves the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies, while also supporting allied governments and selected commercial customers.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and ground systems, target drones, tactical drones, satellite communications systems, space-related products, missile defense technology, hypersonic and high-speed systems, radar and command-and-control solutions, and microwave electronics.