Peregrine Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Peregrine Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 166,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 15,056 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $12,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1,389.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,707,776 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $247,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525,921 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $91,901,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,068,863 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $280,402,000 after buying an additional 698,778 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,401,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 93.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 964,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $88,170,000 after acquiring an additional 465,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KTOS shares. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $93.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.28.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, Director Scot B. Jarvis sold 5,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $411,150.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,123 shares in the company, valued at $5,701,835.70. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.63, for a total value of $348,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 300,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,893,804.47. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 174,027 shares of company stock valued at $14,717,080 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded down $1.90 on Thursday, hitting $66.71. 329,963 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,216,780. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $134.00. The company has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 513.18 and a beta of 1.22. 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’s 50-day moving average is $82.24 and its 200 day moving average is $86.65.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $327.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

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.