Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Acquires 21,306 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. raised its stake in Kratos by 167.3% in Q4, adding 21,306 shares to hold 34,039 shares worth about $2.58 million.
• Institutional ownership is 75.92%, with major funds like First Trust, Invesco and AllianceBernstein holding millions of shares, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Insiders have sold 168,027 shares (~$13.56M) over the past three months, while analysts remain largely positive with a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of $98.28 (some targets up to $130).

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 167.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,039 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,306 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $2,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $280,402,000 after acquiring an additional 698,778 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,046,194 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $278,331,000 after acquiring an additional 209,189 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,072,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $189,383,000 after acquiring an additional 247,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 40.6% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,539,840 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $140,695,000 after purchasing an additional 444,956 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,417 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $411,150.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 75,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,701,835.70. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.72, for a total value of $485,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 227,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,028,538.56. The trade was a 2.77% 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 168,027 shares of company stock valued at $13,561,140 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Clear Str raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JonesTrading assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ KTOS opened at $61.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.06 and a quick ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a PE ratio of 476.42 and a beta of 1.06. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.85 and a 1 year high of $134.00. The business's 50-day moving average is $78.53 and its 200 day moving average is $85.01.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The company had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $327.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.