The GovCon Index started the first week of May with a gain of 0.493 points to 76.854 in an attempt at a recovery from two days of sharp losses incurred Thursday and Friday for the final days of April trade.
Cubic Corp. (NYSE: CUB) closed up 6 cents to $41.63 with 309, 200 shares traded versus the 10-day average of 158, 100 after the San Diego-based defense and transportation contractor boosted its fiscal year 2016 revenue guidance and narrowed its earnings outlook.
L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) rose $2.01 — or 1.53 percent — after the New York City-based defense technology contractor received an upgrade from “Neutral” to “Buy” from Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak, who forecasts the company’s organic growth to accelerate in 2017.
Poponak raised the L-3 stock target price from $138 to $156 and believes U.S. defense spending is at a trough with potential to grow in future years.
Other defense primes Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) followed suit with gains.
U.S. stocks advanced with consumer and financial shares in the lead as investors cut their expectations of an interest rate increase in June, Bloomberg reported.
Traders also reacted to data that showed U.S. manufacturing expanded in April at a pace below economists’ expectations in light of a slowdown in global demand and an energy industry hit by a plunge in oil prices, according to Bloomberg.
Top GovCon Index Net Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change –´ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOC | Northrop Grumman* | 208.31 | +2.05 | +0.99% |
| LLL | L-3 Communications* | 133.54 | +2.01 | +1.53% |
| CACI | CACI International | 97.50 | +1.35 | +1.40% |
| GD | General Dynamics* | 141.83 | +1.31 | +0.93% |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 145.97 | +1.20 | +0.83% |
* Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
Top GovCon Index Percentage Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change –´ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MANT | ManTech International | 34.80 | +1.00 | +2.96% |
| EGL | Engility Holdings | 20.24 | +0.57 | +2.90% |
| VEC | Vectrus | 22.00 | +0.44 | +2.04% |
| I | Intelsat | 4.02 | +0.07 | +1.77% |
| LLL | L-3 Communications* | 133.54 | +2.01 | +1.53% |
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 26 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 4 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 76.854 | +0.493 | +0.646% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 081.43 | +16.13 | +0.78% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 17, 891.16 | +117.52 | +0.66% |
| NASDAQ | 4, 817.59 | +42.24 | +0.88% |
