Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Acquires 24,261 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 152.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,261 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.8% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,035 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 61.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 288.2% in the first quarter. Vision Retirement LLC now owns 427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,553 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 10,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,135,310.50. This trade represents a 13.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Phillip Carrai sold 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.25, for a total value of $1,676,125.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 182,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,516,813. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 382,013 shares of company stock worth $23,856,842. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KTOS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $75.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, October 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.68. The stock had a trading volume of 4,199,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,628,748. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 227.53 and a beta of 1.11. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.37 and a 12 month high of $134.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $46.80 and its 200 day moving average is $53.58. The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $458.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.07% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc is a technology and defense contractor that develops systems and products for national security applications. The company supports the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, national security-related organizations and selected commercial customers, with an emphasis on affordable, rapidly deployable technologies.

Its offerings include unmanned aerial and target systems, hypersonic and high-speed systems, rocket and propulsion technologies, satellite communications equipment, microwave electronics, radar and missile-defense systems, electronic warfare solutions, command-and-control systems, and virtual and live training products.