State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stock Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 5.3%, now holding about 79,316 shares worth approximately $2.36 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded the stock, with BTIG Research raising it to a "buy" rating and setting a price target of $80.00, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" across the firm.
• Insiders sold a total of 82,986 shares of Kratos stock in the past three months, indicating a decrease in ownership among executives despite the stock's recent performance increase.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,316 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,483 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.05% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $2,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $594,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 295,980 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,808,000 after purchasing an additional 44,048 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,407,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,039,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,221,860 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $36,277,000 after acquiring an additional 24,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, BTIG Research raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.35, for a total value of $136,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 63,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,330,450.95. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.53, for a total value of $409,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 353,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,687,487.03. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 82,986 shares of company stock valued at $3,946,088. Insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ KTOS traded up $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,981,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,016,244. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $54.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.95. The company has a quick ratio of 3.88, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.83 and a 1 year high of $72.70. The company has a market capitalization of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 667.17 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $351.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Profile

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.