Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Holdings Lowered by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,761 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,039 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.0% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 665,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,501,000 after purchasing an additional 86,567 shares in the last quarter. MRA Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $448,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,544 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $82,883,000 after buying an additional 29,278 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 239.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after acquiring an additional 192,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter worth $1,220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of KTOS opened at $34.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.22. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.71 and a 52 week high of $35.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 345.73 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.57.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.68% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $275.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.47 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 273,881 shares in the company, valued at $6,288,307.76. This represents a 2.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $168,070.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 356,414 shares in the company, valued at $8,557,500.14. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,661,646. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on KTOS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.30.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.