Stephens Inc. AR Has $14.30 Million Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR significantly increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 933.7%, owning over 307,838 shares valued at approximately $14.30 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Other major institutional investors, such as the Vanguard Group and Principal Financial Group, also expanded their holdings, with institutional investors now owning 75.92% of the company.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, with multiple price target increases and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," reflecting optimism about the company's performance.

Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 933.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 307,838 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 278,059 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR owned about 0.20% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $14,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,447,687 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $488,332,000 after buying an additional 1,728,179 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $41,118,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,163,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $64,226,000 after buying an additional 1,219,585 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 75.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,402,444 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $71,329,000 after buying an additional 1,031,223 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9,709.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,578 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,618,000 after buying an additional 987,408 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 3,846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,147,268.04. The trade was a 10.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.03, for a total value of $460,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 308,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,351,590.07. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 85,716 shares of company stock worth $6,399,245. Corporate insiders own 2.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $74.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.36.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Up 4.2%

NASDAQ KTOS opened at $86.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 866.59 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a current ratio of 4.43. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.69 and a 52 week high of $112.57.

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

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