Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Decreases Stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Lisanti Capital Growth LLC cut its Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stake by 48.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 59,540 shares and ending with 62,300 shares valued at about $4.73 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on KTOS despite some lower price targets. The stock carries an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $96.28.
• Kratos recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.16 EPS on $371 million in revenue, both above analyst estimates, while revenue rose 22.6% year over year.

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC lessened its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 48.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,300 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 59,540 shares during the quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC's holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $4,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,830 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,665 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,698 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 37,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,868,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dupree Financial Group LLC increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 23,817 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on KTOS. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of KTOS opened at $56.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.82. The stock has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.47 and a beta of 1.06. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.97 and a 52 week high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director Bradley L. Boyd sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.08, for a total value of $156,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,480 shares in the company, valued at $858,278.40. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.13, for a total value of $338,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 221,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,549,401.50. This trade represents a 2.85% 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 170,540 shares of company stock valued at $13,138,275. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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