Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $3.77 Million Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 53,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,772,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KTOS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 245.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 601,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,673,000 after purchasing an additional 427,396 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6,900.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 176,831 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,423,000 after purchasing an additional 174,305 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 43,011 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 34,973 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $21,013,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 93.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 964,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $88,170,000 after buying an additional 465,100 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonah Adelman sold 31,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total transaction of $1,788,716.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $456,480. This represents a 79.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William A. Hoglund sold 30,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.19, for a total value of $2,171,295.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 252,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,975,475. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 187,278 shares of company stock worth $11,731,048. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 1.9%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $47.21 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.47 and a 200-day moving average of $78.54. The company has a quick ratio of 5.08, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.75 and a twelve month high of $134.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 277.71 and a beta of 1.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.35.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.