Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 1,389.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.60% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $247,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KTOS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 190,481 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 35,098 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $791,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 64.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 178.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,570 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 393,614 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,686,000 after acquiring an additional 41,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.57, for a total value of $535,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 318,435 shares in the company, valued at $24,382,567.95. The trade was a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacey G. Rock sold 16,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.74, for a total transaction of $1,934,148.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,092,092.38. This trade represents a 38.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 550,763 shares of company stock worth $48,771,342 over the last three months. 2.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $87.53 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.19 and a 200 day moving average of $86.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 4.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 673.36 and a beta of 1.12. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.78 and a fifty-two week high of $134.00.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $345.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $327.51 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.34% and a net margin of 1.63%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $80.00 price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $79.00 target price for the company. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.28.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.