Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,798,859 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 304,088 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.85% of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions worth $70,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,090 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.92% of the company's stock.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 3.7 %

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,425,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,782. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 272.70 and a beta of 1.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.71 and a fifty-two week high of $28.71. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $25.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 2,423 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $60,575.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 59,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,486,325. The trade was a 3.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.68, for a total value of $142,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 279,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,625,072. The trade was a 2.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,765 shares of company stock worth $1,663,507. Insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KTOS. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 report on Friday. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.40.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.