Stephens Inc. AR Raises Stock Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 353,932 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 46,094 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $32,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rovida Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,315,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $236,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162,577 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $37,475,000. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.2% during the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,507,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $209,382,000 after acquiring an additional 818,104 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.1% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,370,085 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $110,090,000 after acquiring an additional 533,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 8,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.40, for a total value of $856,164.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 81,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,623,406.40. This represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total transaction of $1,934,148.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,092,092.38. This trade represents a 38.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 898,639 shares of company stock worth $72,622,719. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS stock opened at $119.72 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.18. The stock has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 920.99 and a beta of 1.09. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.90 and a fifty-two week high of $121.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 3.14%. The company had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KTOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $135.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Jones Trading started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.94.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions 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.