Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS Stake Decreased by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC cut its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 39,963 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $4,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rovida Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $82,315,000. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $64,226,000 after buying an additional 1,219,585 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.6% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,086,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $236,268,000 after buying an additional 1,162,577 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter valued at about $37,475,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.2% during the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,507,692 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $209,382,000 after acquiring an additional 818,104 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $77.70 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.51. The company has a market cap of $13.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 597.74 and a beta of 1.14. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.90 and a 12-month high of $112.57. The company has a quick ratio of 3.68, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.14% and a net margin of 1.56%.The firm had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.09, for a total transaction of $14,818,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,196,237 shares in the company, valued at $88,629,199.33. The trade was a 14.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.80, for a total transaction of $2,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,348 shares in the company, valued at $699,230.40. This trade represents a 76.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 672,711 shares of company stock valued at $51,836,005 in the last three months. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KTOS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas set a $80.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, December 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.53.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions 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.