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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. B. Riley upgraded shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial lifted 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.30.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $33.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.49 and its 200 day moving average is $24.27. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a one year low of $16.71 and a one year high of $34.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 336.23 and a beta of 1.07.

Insider Activity

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,500 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 61,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,057,340.60. The trade was a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $168,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 356,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,557,500.14. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,428 shares of company stock worth $2,661,646. Corporate insiders own 2.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 665,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,501,000 after acquiring an additional 86,567 shares in the last quarter. MRA Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $448,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% during the 3rd 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 period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 239.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 273,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after buying an additional 192,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc bought a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $1,220,000. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

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.