ARK Investment Management LLC Sells 228,227 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Key Points

• ARK Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.8%, selling 228,227 shares to hold approximately 3.69 million shares, representing 1.1% of its portfolio.
• Several large investors have increased their investments, with notable transactions including Angeles Wealth Management acquiring shares valued at about $261,000 and Avantax Advisory Services boosting its position by 50.8%.
• Analyst opinions are mixed; while Citigroup maintains a "market outperform" rating, Royal Bank of Canada and Benchmark raised their target prices to $50.00, indicating positive market sentiment towards the stock's future performance.

ARK Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,689,588 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 228,227 shares during the quarter. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions comprises 1.1% of ARK Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. ARK Investment Management LLC owned about 2.41% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $109,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $261,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 50.8% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 33,108 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 11,147 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 105,432 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,563,000. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Benchmark boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total value of $202,380.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 282,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,514,693.32. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $515,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 384,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,214,990.04. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 151,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,586,226. 2.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS opened at $59.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.84. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.91 and a 52-week high of $61.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 459.80 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $44.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.80.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.85% and a net margin of 1.68%. The firm had revenue of $302.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

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.

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