Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 141,823 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Emerald Advisers LLC trimmed its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,477,871 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 141,823 shares during the quarter. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions comprises about 2.0% of Emerald Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Emerald Advisers LLC owned about 0.96% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $43,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 90.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,284 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,513,437 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $39,924,000 after purchasing an additional 14,588 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,729 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 11,708 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $1,156,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $28,944,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $51.99. 6,711,854 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,043. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $39.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 399.95 and a beta of 1.06. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.91 and a fifty-two week high of $53.28.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.76, for a total transaction of $1,350,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,348 shares in the company, valued at $1,328,388.48. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total value of $197,940.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 288,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,502,703.52. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 149,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,373,706. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Noble Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.25.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions 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.