AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 20,635 Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) by 125.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,635 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions were worth $743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KTOS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,972,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $256,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,580 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 13.2% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,374,077 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $80,396,000 after buying an additional 511,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,190,639 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,855,000 after buying an additional 136,696 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 2,696,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,960,000 after buying an additional 139,853 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,531,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $50,655,000 after acquiring an additional 19,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.19 per share, for a total transaction of $250,275.24. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,058,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,366,350.16. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Scott I. Anderson sold 11,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.78, for a total value of $239,580.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 90,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,208.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Eric M. Demarco bought 12,396 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.19 per share, with a total value of $250,275.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,058,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,366,350.16. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,133 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,907 over the last quarter. 2.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $25.16 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.84. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.36 and a 52 week high of $25.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 359.43 and a beta of 1.02.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $300.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.08 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KTOS shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.00.

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.