Short Interest in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Expands By 15.0%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,370,000 shares, a growth of 15.0% from the September 30th total of 2,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 965,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $27,194.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,272,297.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.19 per share, for a total transaction of $250,275.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,058,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,366,350.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $27,194.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,393 shares in the company, valued at $1,272,297.51. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,091 shares of company stock valued at $1,509,501. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,177,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 14.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,972,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $256,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,580 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 108.7% in the first quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 2,556,787 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $46,994,000 after buying an additional 1,331,499 shares in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the first quarter worth $11,198,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,374,077 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,396,000 after acquiring an additional 511,538 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. B. Riley cut shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.10.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KTOS traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $23.10. 146,442 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,116,805. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.42. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1-year low of $16.36 and a 1-year high of $25.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 337.00 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.13 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 0.89%. The firm had revenue of $300.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.