Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Sequoia Financial Advisors raised its Kratos stake by 29.8% to 140,856 shares, while other institutions also added or initiated positions. Institutional investors now own 75.92% of the company.
• Insiders sold shares: Kratos insiders sold 389,688 shares worth approximately $24.4 million over the past three months, including a $19.3 million sale by CEO Eric DeMarco under a pre-arranged trading plan.
• Results and analyst sentiment remain positive: Quarterly EPS of $0.21 and revenue of $458.8 million exceeded estimates, with revenue up 30.5% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $99.47, despite recent target reductions.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,856 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,315 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $7,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% in 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,673,000 after buying an additional 427,396 shares during the period. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth about $34,842,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth approximately $53,746,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,056,872 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $74,520,000 after purchasing an additional 342,789 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Steven Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.16, for a total transaction of $393,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 288,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,180,313.76. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Eric Demarco sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total value of $19,299,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 761,632 shares in the company, valued at $48,995,786.56. The trade was a 28.26% 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. Insiders sold 389,688 shares of company stock valued at $24,397,492 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $46.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.54 and a quick ratio of 4.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.16. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $43.09 and a one year high of $134.00. The stock has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 274.65 and a beta of 1.11.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The company had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.47.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology company that develops products and systems for national security, defense and commercial applications. The company primarily serves the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies, while also supporting allied governments and selected commercial customers.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and ground systems, target drones, tactical drones, satellite communications systems, space-related products, missile defense technology, hypersonic and high-speed systems, radar and command-and-control solutions, and microwave electronics.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.