TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 591,990 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 591,990 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,617,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,032,888 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $93,966,000 after acquiring an additional 233,051 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 0.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,798,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $70,951,000 after acquiring an additional 304,088 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 12.8% in the third quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,694,948 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $62,792,000 after acquiring an additional 305,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 9.0% in the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 1,776,740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,398,000 after acquiring an additional 146,319 shares during the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

In related news, VP De Burgreen Maria Cervantes sold 19,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $585,840.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 51,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,533,630. The trade was a 27.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total value of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 103,430 shares in the company, valued at $2,739,860.70. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,044 shares of company stock worth $2,576,338. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTOS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. B. Riley upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Five equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.30.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:KTOS opened at $26.85 on Thursday. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.78 and a 52 week high of $35.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 268.53 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.99.

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.