Short Interest in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Expands By 18.4%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 9,127,940 shares, a growth of 18.4% from the February 26th total of 7,708,615 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,667,117 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott I. Anderson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.11, for a total transaction of $1,336,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 51,334 shares in the company, valued at $4,574,372.74. This trade represents a 22.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco sold 191,699 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.28, for a total value of $17,306,585.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,032,922.76. This represents a 21.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 373,500 shares of company stock worth $34,826,678 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7,701.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,593,549 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $120,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,123 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $104,807,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $91,901,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $280,402,000 after purchasing an additional 698,778 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on KTOS. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. JonesTrading assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $79.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 4.0%

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $67.70 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.02. The company has a market capitalization of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of 520.81 and a beta of 1.22. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $25.78 and a 52-week high of $134.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 4.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The firm had revenue of $345.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.