Falls Church, Virginia-based Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) is an aerospace and defense technology company with a market cap of $102.8 billion. It provides products such as stealth aircraft, autonomous systems, missile defense solutions, radar and cyber security technologies, and space satellites and launch systems.
Companies valued at $10 billion or more are typically classified as “large-cap stocks,” and NOC fits the label perfectly, with market caps over that range, reflecting its size, influence, and dominance in the aerospace and defense industry. The company invests heavily in digital engineering, which has allowed it to design and test new systems in a virtual environment before physical prototyping.
The aerospace and defense major is currently trading $2.8 below its 52-week high of $745.55 reached on February 19. Shares of NOC are up 27.7% over the past three months, outperforming the State Street Industrial Select sector in the SPDR ETF ( XLI ) 15% over the same period.
Moreover, on a YTD basis, NOC shares are up 27% compared to XLI’s 14.2% increase. In the longer term, NOC has gained 57.5% over the past 52 weeks, ahead of XLI’s 31.7% gain over the same time frame.
Confirming its bullish trend, NOC has been trading above its 200-day moving average since mid-June, with little volatility, and has remained above its 50-day moving average since mid-December.
On January 27, NOC shares rose 2.7% after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Driven by strong revenue growth across all reporting segments, its net sales rose 9.6% year over year to $11.7 billion, slightly exceeding consensus estimates. Additionally, supported by strong operating income growth in its aeronautics, mission, and space systems divisions, adjusted EPS came in at $7.23, up 13.1% from the year-ago quarter and 3.3% above analyst forecasts.
NOC has outperformed its rival, Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT), which has risen 47.4% over the past 52 weeks. However, this lags behind the 36.1% increase in LMT on a YTD basis.
