Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 46,679 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stake by 31.5% in the second quarter, selling 46,679 shares and retaining 101,666 shares worth approximately $5.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.92% of KTOS.
• Kratos reported a strong quarter, with revenue rising 30.5% year over year to $458.8 million and earnings of $0.21 per share, exceeding analysts’ $0.14 estimate.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $98.06, although company insiders sold roughly $23.9 million of shares over the past three months.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 31.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 101,666 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 46,679 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $5,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5,429.2% in the 2nd 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,458,084 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $110,683,000 after buying an additional 476,049 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,515,997 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $106,893,000 after buying an additional 164,607 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,398,525 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $106,162,000 after acquiring an additional 556,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, CEO Eric Demarco sold 300,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total value of $19,299,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 761,632 shares in the company, valued at $48,995,786.56. This trade represents a 28.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total transaction of $393,120.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 288,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,180,313.76. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 381,688 shares of company stock valued at $23,935,287. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS opened at $47.58 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $51.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.63. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.09 and a 1 year high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.54 and a quick ratio of 4.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 279.88 and a beta of 1.11.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.07% and a net margin of 2.03%.The firm had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.06.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Profile

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.

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