Walleye Capital LLC Takes $266,000 Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC has acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, purchasing approximately 8,948 shares valued at $266,000 during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions, with institutional investors now owning 75.92% of the stock, indicating strong market confidence.
• Kratos reported earnings of $0.11 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates, while revenue grew 17.1% year-over-year to $351.50 million.

Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,948 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,888 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,449 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,441 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,993 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KTOS shares. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.64.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.4%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $64.50 on Thursday. 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 $20.83 and a 52-week high of $72.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 645.06 and a beta of 1.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $351.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.67 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 1.20% and a return on equity of 3.10%. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 6,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.78, for a total value of $406,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 264,074 shares in the company, valued at $17,898,935.72. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.10, for a total transaction of $325,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 313,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,397,587.70. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,419 shares of company stock worth $3,242,534 over the last ninety days. 2.37% of the stock is 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.

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