Benzinga | Jan 10, 2022 03:55PM EST

Wells Fargo Bumps Up Price Targets For Some Aerospace & Defense Companies

Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Akers raised price targets for certain Aerospace & Defense companies.

* The analyst upgraded Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC) to Equal Weight from Underweight and raised the price target to $399, from $335.

* Akers believes the outlook is de-risked following initial 2022 guidance, margins have held up better-than-expected, and tough talk on nuclear weapons during 2020 campaigns doesn't appear to have translated to GBSD funding pressure.

* The analyst upgraded L3Harris Technologies Inc (NYSE:LHX) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised the price target to $254, from $243.

* Akers sees a portfolio well-matched to U.S. defense priorities with less single-program risk, trading at a discount to its peers.

* The analyst increased General Dynamics Corp's (NYSE:GD) price target to $235 (an upside of 12%) from $230 and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares.

* Akers notes General Dynamics remains his top pick in the defense group and should benefit from business jet strength and improving capital deployment with large investments now behind.

* The analyst raised Lockheed Martin Corp's (NYSE:LMT) price target to $379 (an upside of 4%) from $340 and maintained an Equal-Weight rating on the shares.

* Price Action: NOC shares are trading higher by 0.57% at $402.69, LHX higher by 1.68% at $223.47, GD lower by 0.84% at $210.30, and LMT higher by 1.09% at $364.13 on the last check Monday.