LPL Financial LLC Has $3.32 Million Stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.4%, holding approximately 0.07% of the company valued at $3.32 million after the sale of over 20,000 shares.
• Hedge funds have shown mixed actions, with notable increases in holdings by Wells Fargo (up 16.3%) and Barclays (up 50.3%) in the latest quarter.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $57.64 for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, with several firms recommending a buy, indicating a generally positive outlook despite concerns over valuation risks.

LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,798 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 20,319 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $3,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 8,975 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,479 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% during the first quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.5% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,993 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.64.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded down $1.9980 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.0220. The company had a trading volume of 1,142,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,343,974. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.70 and a fifty-two week high of $72.70. The company has a current ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 622.06 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.34.

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

Insider Activity 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 on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.43, for a total transaction of $181,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,100,819.49. The trade was a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.16, for a total transaction of $252,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 276,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,743.60. This trade represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,786 shares of company stock valued at $3,928,132 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.