Lockheed Martin shares close lower on Monday, company seeks to increase Javelin missile production almost twofold

Lockheed Martin Corp’s (LMT) Chief Executive Officer James Taiclet said in an interview with CBS News that the company intended to increase production of Javelin missiles, the anti-tank weapon that has aided Ukraine in the military confrontation with Russia, nearly twofold.

The CEO added the weapons maker planned to bolster output to 4,000 units per year from 2,100 units per year at present. The production ramp-up will take as long as a few years, Taiclet also said.

“We can start turning up the heat now and ramping up production immediately,” the CEO said, while adding the company is expecting increased demand for “superior systems in large enough numbers”.

“We’re planning for the long run and not just in the Javelin,” James Taiclet said, as he anticipates seeing higher demand beyond the Ukraine conflict.

The United States has provided Ukraine with $3.4 billion worth of weapons since Russia’s incursion on February 24th, including Javelins, howitzers, anti-aircraft Stinger systems, ammunition and body armor.

Lockheed Martin shares closed lower for the sixth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Monday. It has also been the steepest single-session loss since April 21st. The stock went down 2.36% ($10.59) to $438.84, after touching an intraday low at $437.16. The latter has been a price level not seen since May 4th ($434.89).

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation have risen 23.47% so far in 2022 compared with a 16.26% loss for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2021, Lockheed Martin Corp’s stock edged up 0.12%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 26.89% gain.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to TipRanks, at least 7 out of 14 surveyed investment analysts had rated Lockheed Martin Corp’s stock as “Buy”, while other 7 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $503.14.