Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Takes Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has acquired 44,609 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) valued at approximately $1.32 million.
• Kratos recently reported earnings of $0.11 per share, exceeding expectations and showcasing a 17.1% year-over-year revenue increase to $351.5 million.
• Analysts have raised their target prices significantly, with Stifel Nicolaus estimating a target of $70.00, indicating a strong positive outlook for KTOS stock.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 44,609 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,324,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $594,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 295,980 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,808,000 after purchasing an additional 44,048 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $1,407,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $1,039,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,221,860 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $36,277,000 after purchasing an additional 24,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KTOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.92.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.75. The stock had a trading volume of 5,170,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,350,523. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.69 and a twelve month high of $71.11. The stock has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 687.57 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a current ratio of 4.43.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total transaction of $151,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 101,691 shares in the company, valued at $3,838,835.25. This trade represents a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 2,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.97, for a total transaction of $101,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 65,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,340,318.95. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 99,786 shares of company stock valued at $4,102,682. Company insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

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.