Key Takeaways
- Lockheed Martin shares remain in focus Friday morning after the company won a $4.1 billion contract from the Missile Defense Agency.
- The contract, which aims to drive innovation and development of the government’s battle command system, has an ordering period from May 1, 2024, through April 30, 2029, with an option to extend through April 30, 2034.
- A breakout in Lockheed Martin shares above a key trendline around $454 could act as a catalyst for a move up to overhead resistance near $490.
Shares in Lockheed Martin (LMT) are on the radar Friday after the aerospace and defense giant said it had won a $4.1 billion contract from the U.S. government’s Missile Defense Agency to develop its battle command system.
The contract, which aims to drive innovation and development of the Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system, has an ordering period from May 1, 2024, through April 30, 2029, with an option to extend through April 30, 2034, the company confirmed.
Lockheed will upgrade the C2BMC system with next generation military technology to plan for, track, and process hypersonic threats, with the majority of the work to be carried out at its facilities in Huntsville, Alabama and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The defense equipment manufacturer opened its $16.5 million Huntsville engineering facility last November, saying at the time that it will be used to test and develop the Missile Defense Agency’s next long range ballistic missile defense interceptor, making it a strategic location to perform upgrades to the C2BMC system.
The company’s latest contract win comes less than a month after it was awarded a follow-on production contract valued at $483 million to build joint-air-to-ground and hellfire missiles for the U.S. Army.
Since reaching its record high in April last year, the Lockheed Martin share price has trended mostly lower, apart from several countertrend rallies. Investors should keep a close eye on a key trendline sitting at $454 that connects three prominent swing highs over the past 12 months. A volume-backed breakout above this level would likely see sentiment turn bullish and potentially act as a technical catalyst for a move up to overhead resistance near $490.
Lockheed Martin shares were up 0.2% at $453.00 about three hours before the opening bell on Friday.
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