Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $1.45 Million Stock Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 54,761 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,039 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MRA Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $448,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 32,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $647,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 249,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,770 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 665,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,501,000 after purchasing an additional 86,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of KTOS stock opened at $34.57 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 345.73 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.92 and a 200-day moving average of $24.57. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.71 and a 12-month high of $35.66.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $275.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $278.47 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a return on equity of 3.68% and a net margin of 1.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on KTOS. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $41,940.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,555,442.76. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 273,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,288,307.76. This trade represents a 2.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,661,646. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.