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

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,930,000 shares, a growth of 22.8% from the October 31st total of 3,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Friday, September 13th. B. Riley downgraded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $22.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kratos Defense & Security Solutions news, CFO Deanna H. Lund sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.41, for a total value of $134,460.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 285,905 shares in the company, valued at $6,407,131.05. This trade represents a 2.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven S. Fendley sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.51, for a total value of $185,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 349,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,262,753.06. The trade was a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,620 shares of company stock worth $1,727,730 in the last three months. 2.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 627.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 49,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 42,817 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,220,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $607,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 272.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 432,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,655,000 after purchasing an additional 316,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $678,000. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock traded down $0.27 on Monday, reaching $26.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 318,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,568. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 267.03 and a beta of 1.07. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has a 52-week low of $16.71 and a 52-week high of $28.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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.