Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,030,000 shares, an increase of 38.1% from the February 28th total of 5,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ KTOS traded down $0.67 on Thursday, hitting $30.49. 1,186,850 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,550,618. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.05 and a twelve month high of $35.66. The company's 50 day moving average price is $30.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 305.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 2.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on KTOS. B. Riley upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on 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. StockNews.com raised Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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 research report on Friday, December 13th. Four investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.67.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total transaction of $172,130.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 370,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,114,529.40. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total transaction of $49,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 61,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,057,340.60. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,196 shares of company stock worth $2,903,610. Insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,719,508 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,301,000 after purchasing an additional 701,216 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,340,795 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $114,510,000 after buying an additional 307,907 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,556,544 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $82,883,000 after acquiring an additional 29,278 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,130,109 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $82,576,000 after acquiring an additional 203,245 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,116,164 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $82,204,000 after acquiring an additional 317,305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company's stock.

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.