Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stake Lowered by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lowered its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 24.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,668 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 29,129 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.06% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $2,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 8,975 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,479 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,993 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 8.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded up $4.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,474,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,172,694. The firm has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 453.19 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.91 and a 1 year high of $59.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.30.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,567 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.75, for a total value of $247,904.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 318,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,033,416.50. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,572 shares of company stock valued at $5,175,766. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.