Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 4.5%, selling 18,085 shares and now owns approximately 386,613 shares worth $11.48 million.
• Multiple hedge funds increased their holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, including Aspect Partners LLC, which raised its holdings by 1,900% in the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions show a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $50.08, reflecting optimism about future performance.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 386,613 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 18,085 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned 0.25% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $11,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 202.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 653.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 2,307 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.97, for a total value of $101,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 65,535 shares in the company, valued at $3,340,318.95. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total transaction of $322,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 360,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,603,478.50. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,572 shares of company stock worth $5,352,006. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 2.9%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded down $1.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $58.01. 1,666,833 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,246,181. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $44.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 446.57 and a beta of 1.06. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.91 and a 52-week high of $61.43.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $302.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.