Sapient Capital LLC Decreases Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Sapient Capital cut its Kratos Defense & Security Solutions position by 39.5% in the first quarter, selling 182,272 shares and retaining 279,416 shares valued at approximately $19.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.92% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.29, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Kratos exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.16 in EPS versus a $0.13 estimate and $371 million in revenue, up 22.6% year over year. The stock opened at $46.60, near its 52-week low of $43.09 and well below its $134.00 high.

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 39.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 279,416 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 182,272 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC owned about 0.15% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $19,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446,230 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $337,565,000 after buying an additional 148,622 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,311,095 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $251,345,000 after acquiring an additional 124,607 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 worth $189,383,000 after acquiring an additional 247,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $120,966,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573,123 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.29.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total value of $201,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,341,707.10. This represents a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $86,895.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 64,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,733,414.71. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 139,036 shares of company stock valued at $7,799,667 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ KTOS opened at $46.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.09 and a 1-year high of $134.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 274.12 and a beta of 1.08. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.63.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The firm had revenue of $371.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $345.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions 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.

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