Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Short Interest Update

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,030,000 shares, an increase of 38.1% from the February 28th total of 5,090,000 shares. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other news, insider Thomas E. Iv Mills sold 8,637 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.14, for a total value of $234,408.18. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,215 shares in the company, valued at $331,515.10. This represents a 41.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 2,031 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.36, for a total transaction of $63,692.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,172,871.68. The trade was a 2.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,196 shares of company stock worth $2,962,300 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTOS. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $461,000. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.0% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 665,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,501,000 after acquiring an additional 86,567 shares during the last quarter. MRA Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $448,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 121.3% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 16,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ KTOS traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $29.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,025,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,548,001. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1 year low of $17.05 and a 1 year high of $35.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 293.03 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. B. Riley upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.67.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of mission critical products, services and solutions for United States national security priorities. It operates through the Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US) segments. The KGS segment consists of an aggregation of KGS operating segments, including microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions.