Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 8,571 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. has acquired 8,571 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, valued at approximately $398,000, during the 2nd quarter, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have increased their price objectives for Kratos, with JMP Securities raising theirs to $105.00, reflecting positive sentiment about the stock's future performance.
• Insider transactions show that key executives have sold shares recently, with David M. Carter selling 4,000 shares at an average price of $102.81, representing a 4.09% decrease in his holdings.

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 8,571 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $398,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 893 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,900.0% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on KTOS shares. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.36.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.81, for a total transaction of $411,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 93,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,644,503.29. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 3,846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.02, for a total value of $353,908.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,147,268.04. This trade represents a 10.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,716 shares of company stock worth $6,399,245 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $91.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 911.89 and a beta of 1.12. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.69 and a 1-year high of $112.57. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $79.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.09.

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

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