Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Shares Purchased by Driehaus Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, boosting its ownership by 120% to approximately 1.35 million shares valued at $40.21 million.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Kratos, with price targets reaching as high as $80 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on recent evaluations by various research firms.
• In the latest quarter, Kratos Defense & Security reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.11, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 17.1% year-over-year revenue growth.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 120.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,354,312 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 738,743 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned 0.88% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $40,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,888 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.6% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 8,975 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% in the first quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,993 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KTOS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $74.00 target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.64.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.51, for a total value of $222,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,339,968.54. The trade was a 8.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.16, for a total transaction of $252,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 276,085 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,743.60. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,986 shares of company stock valued at $3,792,398. 2.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ KTOS opened at $68.51 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.83 and a fifty-two week high of $72.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.21 and a 200-day moving average of $40.91. The stock has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 685.17 and a beta of 1.04.

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

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