Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS is Nicholas Investment Partners LP's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Nicholas Investment Partners LP trimmed its KTOS stake by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, but Kratos remains its 3rd-largest holding at 2.2% of the portfolio, worth about $29.8 million.
• Kratos reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.16 versus $0.13 expected and revenue of $371 million versus $345 million estimated, while revenue grew 22.6% year over year.
• Despite the earnings beat, the stock was down 1.8% and insiders recently sold shares, including a 35,000-share sale by Steven S. Fendley and a 5,000-share sale by CFO Deanna H. Lund.

Nicholas Investment Partners LP decreased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 392,032 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 22,430 shares during the period. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions accounts for 2.2% of Nicholas Investment Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.23% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $29,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,673,000 after acquiring an additional 427,396 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6,900.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 176,831 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $13,423,000 after acquiring an additional 174,305 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 34,973 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,013,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 93.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 964,973 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $88,170,000 after acquiring an additional 465,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Clear Str raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.17.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $57.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a P/E 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's fifty day moving average price is $62.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company 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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