Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Sells 421,098 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lessened its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,107,368 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 421,098 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. owned about 2.41% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $63,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 57,081 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.1% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,332 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,395 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. LGL Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 51,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 67,899 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.14.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total value of $27,075.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,637,369.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total value of $27,075.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,637,369.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.24, for a total transaction of $127,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 345,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,305,768.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,038 shares of company stock valued at $700,374. 2.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

KTOS traded up $0.44 on Friday, reaching $21.03. 1,036,408 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,777. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 78.11 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $18.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.64. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.88 and a twelve month high of $21.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.47.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a positive return on equity of 3.43% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The company had revenue of $277.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc operates as a technology company that addresses the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments, Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems. The company offers ground systems for satellites and space vehicles, including software for command and control, telemetry, and tracking and control; jet-powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles, and rocket systems; propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, spacecraft, and launch systems; command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, and satellite; counter unmanned aircraft systems, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual and augmented reality training systems for the warfighter.

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