Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its KTOS stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 182,686 shares and ending with about 2.63 million shares valued at roughly $199.8 million.
• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.16 versus $0.13 expected and revenue of $371 million, up 22.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: KTOS has a Moderate Buy consensus, with a $98.17 average price target, while insiders have also sold shares in recent months.

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,632,388 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 182,686 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.56% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $199,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KTOS. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $247,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $104,807,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $91,901,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,398,525 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $106,162,000 after purchasing an additional 556,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.8%

KTOS opened at $57.75 on Friday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.00 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.36 and a 200-day moving average of $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. The company has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 339.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The company had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same period last 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 forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KTOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total value of $1,788,716.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,480. The trade was a 79.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 directly owned 252,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,975,475. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 217,564 shares of company stock worth $14,576,994 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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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