HighTower Advisors LLC Takes $238,000 Position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,022 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,032,888 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $93,966,000 after acquiring an additional 233,051 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,544 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $82,883,000 after purchasing an additional 29,278 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,798,859 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $70,951,000 after buying an additional 304,088 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.0% during the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 1,776,740 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $41,398,000 after buying an additional 146,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,513,437 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $39,924,000 after buying an additional 14,588 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 weighed in on KTOS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. B. Riley raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.67.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KTOS traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.24. 3,121,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,572,213. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $29.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.75. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $17.05 and a one year high of $35.66. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 282.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.28, for a total transaction of $175,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 331,271 shares in the company, valued at $9,699,614.88. This represents a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP De Burgreen Maria Cervantes sold 19,528 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $585,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 51,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,533,630. This represents a 27.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,196 shares of company stock valued at $2,963,450 in the last quarter. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

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.