Castleark Management LLC Sells 28,050 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Castleark Management LLC cut its Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stake by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 28,050 shares and leaving it with 152,904 shares worth about $11.6 million.
• Kratos reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.16 beating estimates and revenue of $371 million topping expectations; revenue rose 22.6% year over year.
• The stock has been volatile, recently trading at $57.75 after a 1.8% decline, while analysts currently rate KTOS a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $98.17.

Castleark Management LLC reduced its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,904 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 28,050 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $11,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 420 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 193.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $57.75 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 339.71 and a beta of 1.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.00 and a 1-year high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $80.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.17.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $318,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 290,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,494,862.14. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 35,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.23, for a total transaction of $2,038,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 309,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,998,136.01. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 217,564 shares of company stock worth $14,576,994. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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