IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Grows Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 68.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,707 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,419 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,340,795 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $114,510,000 after buying an additional 307,907 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,130,109 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $82,576,000 after purchasing an additional 203,245 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,079,022 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $54,845,000 after purchasing an additional 172,030 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,798,339 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $47,440,000 after purchasing an additional 35,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 140.5% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,599,740 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $42,201,000 after purchasing an additional 934,455 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 15,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total transaction of $515,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 384,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,214,990.04. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $247,904.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 318,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,033,416.50. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 145,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,644,656 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 4.9%

KTOS opened at $59.50 on Tuesday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.91 and a 1-year high of $61.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 457.73 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.80.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KTOS shares. Noble Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.08.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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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