Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,976 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,960 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 391,022 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,824,000 after acquiring an additional 21,022 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 230,059 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 44.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 33,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 10,222 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,246 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lisanti Capital Growth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 48.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 52,880 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 17,205 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $27,194.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,272,297.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.19 per share, with a total value of $250,275.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,058,264 shares in the company, valued at $21,366,350.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 63,393 shares in the company, valued at $1,272,297.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,355 shares of company stock worth $1,545,240 in the last ninety days. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. JMP Securities started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $22.49 on Friday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $13.98 and a one year high of $23.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.69 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.99.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $300.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.08 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS 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.