Fred Alger Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC has reduced its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 21.8%, holding 729,685 shares after selling 202,970 shares in the first quarter.
• During the same period, other institutional investors like Vanguard Group and Invesco Ltd. increased their stakes significantly, indicating strong institutional interest in Kratos.
• Shares of Kratos opened at $64.81, and the company reported a 17.1% increase in revenue year-over-year, generating $351.50 million in the latest quarter.

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 729,685 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 202,970 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.48% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $21,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,888 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 8,975 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.10, for a total value of $325,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 313,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,397,587.70. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total value of $322,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 360,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,603,478.50. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,177 shares of company stock worth $3,876,673. 2.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KTOS. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JMP Securities set a $70.00 price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.64.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded up $1.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,763,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,299,333. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.83 and a 12 month high of $72.70. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 656.67 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.67 and its 200 day moving average is $43.05. The company has a quick ratio of 3.88, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 1.20%.The firm had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal 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.