Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Shares Sold by Seven Grand Managers LLC

Key Points

• Seven Grand Managers LLC cut its KTOS stake by 50% in the fourth quarter, selling 250,000 shares and leaving it with 250,000 shares worth about $18.98 million. Despite the sale, the stock still represented 1.4% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Institutional interest in Kratos remains strong overall, with 75.92% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds. Several firms added to positions or initiated new ones, including Alliancebernstein, First Trust Advisors, JPMorgan Chase, and Westfield Capital.
• Analysts remain generally constructive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target price of $96.28, even though some firms recently trimmed price targets. Kratos also reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat estimates, with revenue up 22.6% year over year.

Seven Grand Managers LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 250,000 shares during the quarter. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions makes up 1.4% of Seven Grand Managers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Seven Grand Managers LLC owned about 0.15% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $18,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KTOS. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,901,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $280,402,000 after acquiring an additional 698,778 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 964,973 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $88,170,000 after acquiring an additional 465,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $35,291,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KTOS. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $99.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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. BTIG Research reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.28.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $578,955.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 234,292 shares in the company, valued at $20,868,388.44. The trade was a 2.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total value of $2,171,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 252,500 shares in the company, valued at $17,975,475. This trade represents a 10.78% 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 have sold a total of 154,540 shares of company stock worth $11,689,165 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 0.9%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $57.30 on Thursday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.88 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 5.08 and a current ratio of 5.63. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 337.06 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.26.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share 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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