Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Stake Boosted by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 57,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 190,604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,027 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the period. LGL Partners LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. LGL Partners LLC now owns 51,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the period. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 120,800.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $21.80 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.02 and a quick ratio of 2.47. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.98 and a 52-week high of $22.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.69 and a beta of 1.05.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a positive return on equity of 3.43% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The business had revenue of $277.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.48 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KTOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BTIG Research started coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 310,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,200,020. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 310,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,200,020. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonah Adelman sold 90,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.58, for a total value of $1,942,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,348 shares in the company, valued at $957,029.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 175,220 shares of company stock valued at $3,734,576. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

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.