Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) is Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC decreased its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 368,108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 34,423 shares during the period. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions makes up approximately 1.7% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned 0.24% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $9,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 582.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 90.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,284 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 86.6% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KTOS. B. Riley raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $41,940.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,555,442.76. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Phillip D. Carrai sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.33, for a total transaction of $526,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 263,283 shares in the company, valued at $6,932,241.39. This trade represents a 7.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,181 shares of company stock valued at $3,256,346 over the last ninety days. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of KTOS opened at $27.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 272.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.61. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.78 and a 1-year high of $35.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.47.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions 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.