Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Short Interest Up 10.2% in December

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,900,000 shares, a growth of 10.2% from the December 15th total of 3,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,947,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,264,238. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.30. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 12-month low of $16.71 and a 12-month high of $34.83. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 336.23 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total transaction of $49,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 61,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,340.60. This trade represents a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 273,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,288,307.76. This represents a 2.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,428 shares of company stock worth $2,661,646 over the last 90 days. 2.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTOS. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,186,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,742 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 8,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 229.4% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,590 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. B. Riley upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.30.

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.