Castleark Management LLC Cuts Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Castleark Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 28.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,634 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 43,270 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $7,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% during the 1st quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on KTOS shares. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wedbush initiated coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $82.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.29.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $47.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 5.08. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 278.53 and a beta of 1.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.58 and a 1-year high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The aerospace company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 2.08%.The business had revenue of $371.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.45, for a total transaction of $201,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,341,707.10. This trade represents a 5.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.37, for a total transaction of $338,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 302,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,613,834.62. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 141,036 shares of company stock worth $8,024,377 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.