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

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS - Get Free Report) saw a significant 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 presently 2.4 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KTOS. B. Riley raised shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.67.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Down 8.5 %

Shares of KTOS traded down $2.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,558,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,563,177. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 1 year low of $17.05 and a 1 year high of $35.66. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $29.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 278.23 and a beta of 1.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, VP De Burgreen Maria Cervantes sold 19,528 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $585,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 51,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,533,630. This represents a 27.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total transaction of $49,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 61,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,057,340.60. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 106,196 shares of company stock worth $3,079,290. Insiders own 2.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 202.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,046 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 90.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,284 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 86.6% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 75.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Company Profile

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.