Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 10,731 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 169% compared to the average daily volume of 3,992 call options.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 6.6%

Shares of KTOS stock traded down $2.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.77. The stock had a trading volume of 4,895,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,790. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $36.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 124.66 and a beta of 0.99. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $17.91 and a 52-week high of $46.52.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $302.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Noble Financial lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $33.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 40,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.76, for a total transaction of $1,350,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,328,388.48. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco acquired 7,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.59 per share, for a total transaction of $250,413.45. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,396,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,899,600.83. This trade represents a 0.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,572 shares of company stock worth $5,251,396. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 129.2% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,163,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $64,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,585 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 360,665 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,708,000 after purchasing an additional 139,725 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the first quarter worth about $374,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 80,761 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,398,000 after acquiring an additional 18,405 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

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.