Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS), as revealed in its recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The investment firm purchased 7,969 shares of the aerospace company, which are valued at approximately $370,000.
Several other institutional investors have also made moves regarding Kratos shares. For instance, Costello Asset Management INC entered the market with a new stake valued at $29,000 in the first quarter. Twin Tree Management LP and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise followed suit, acquiring stakes valued at about $37,000 and $38,000, respectively. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position by 64.4%, now owning 1,315 shares worth $39,000 after adding 515 shares. Farther Finance Advisors LLC also expanded its holdings, growing its stake by 129.0% to 893 shares valued at $41,000. It is noteworthy that hedge funds and institutional investors collectively own 75.92% of Kratos’ stock.
As of Friday, shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions traded at $67.31, down 4.8%. The company holds a market capitalization of $11.36 billion and has a price-to-earnings ratio of 673.17, with a beta of 1.11. Its current ratio stands at 4.43, a quick ratio of 3.88, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Over the past year, Kratos’ stock has fluctuated between a low of $23.90 and a high of $112.57.
On November 4, 2023, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions released its quarterly earnings, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.14, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $0.12 by $0.02. The company achieved revenue of $347.60 million, exceeding the consensus estimate of $323.01 million and marking a 26.0% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts project that the company will post an EPS of 0.31 for the current fiscal year.
Recent analyst evaluations have varied, with BNP Paribas Exane initiating coverage with a “neutral” rating and a price target of $80.00. Conversely, JMP Securities upgraded its target from $70.00 to $105.00, citing a “market outperform” rating. Stifel Nicolaus set an even higher target of $112.00 and recommended a “buy” rating. Overall, one analyst has given a “Strong Buy” rating, while twelve have rated it as a Buy and six as a Hold. The average target price across analysts is $82.06, according to data from MarketBeat.com.
In insider trading news, Vice President Maria Cervantes De Burgreen sold 6,264 shares on September 15, 2023, at an average price of $69.80, totaling $437,227.20. After this transaction, her holdings stand at 53,609 shares, valued at approximately $3,741,908.20. Another insider, Phillip D. Carrai, sold 6,000 shares on the same date for $412,920.00. This sale reduced his ownership by 2.27% to 258,073 shares, which are valued at $17,760,583.86.
In total, insiders have sold 85,124 shares valued at $6,817,388 in the past 90 days, with corporate insiders owning 2.37% of the company’s stock.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. focuses on providing mission-critical products, services, and solutions for U.S. national security priorities. The company operates through its segments, including Kratos Government Solutions and Unmanned Systems.
