Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 4,566 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 155% compared to the average daily volume of 1,789 call options.

Insider Transactions at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total transaction of $27,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,713 shares in the company, valued at $1,637,369.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 214,765 shares in the company, valued at $4,295,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.05, for a total transaction of $27,075.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,637,369.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,538 shares of company stock valued at $763,479 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 120,800.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 87.5% in the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.14.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of KTOS remained flat at $17.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday. 212,739 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,299,680. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $18.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.42. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a one year low of $12.12 and a one year high of $21.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -297.12 and a beta of 0.81.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.03. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a negative net margin of 0.86% and a positive return on equity of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $273.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $253.39 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.