Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Shares Sold by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management trimmed its Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stake by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 37,000 shares and leaving it with 133,063 shares valued at about $10.1 million.
• Insider selling continued, with CFO Deanna H. Lund and Director Scot B. Jarvis both selling shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans; insiders have sold 173,027 shares over the last 90 days.
• Kratos topped quarterly expectations, reporting $0.16 EPS on $371 million in revenue, ahead of estimates, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $96.28.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 133,063 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 37,000 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $10,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 57.7% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,673 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,732,000 after purchasing an additional 26,946 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth $1,828,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth $19,048,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $13,423,000 after purchasing an additional 174,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter worth $21,013,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.10, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 295,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,331,920. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,417 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $411,150.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 75,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,701,835.70. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 173,027 shares of company stock valued at $13,754,040. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KTOS. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on 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. Finally, Clear Str raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $57.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 337.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $134.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.78.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

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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