Latest news with #Susquehanna
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lockheed Martin Under Intense Wall Street Pressure On Mounting Program Risks, Q2 Woes
Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:) faces growing pressure from Wall Street after delivering mixed second-quarter results and absorbing nearly $1.6 billion in charges across key segments. Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak reiterated a Sell rating on Lockheed Martin and lowered his 12-month price forecast to $398 from $406. He pointed to ongoing problems that could hurt profits, reduce cash flow, and make future earnings less predictable. Poponak noted that the latest charges in classified Aeronautics and helicopter programs within Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) reduce segment margin expectations and may drag free cash flow lower beyond also highlighted risks tied to NGAD program losses and uncertainty around future F-35 funding, both of which threaten a substantial share of Lockheed's earnings base. Despite continued demand in missile defense and other high-profile programs, Poponak believes Lockheed is entering a more challenging phase. He cut his 2025-2028 EPS estimates and lowered his 12-month price target to $398 from $406, while maintaining a target P/E multiple of 0.81x relative to the S&P 500. Other Analysts Also Turned Cautious Following The Results: Susquehanna's Charles Minervino maintained a Positive rating and lowered his price forecast from $550 to $490. RBC Capital's Ken Herbert kept a Sector Perform rating and cut his forecast from $480 to $440. Truist's Michael Ciarmoli downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and reduced his forecast from $554 to $440. Baird's Peter Arment maintained an Outperform rating while trimming his forecast from $540 to $500. JP Morgan's Seth Seifman maintained an Overweight rating while lowering the price forecast from $520 to $465. Earnings Recap: Margins Hit by Legacy Program Charges Lockheed reported net sales of $18.16 billion, slightly missing estimates, while adjusted EPS of $7.29 beat the $6.63 consensus. However, GAAP earnings fell to $1.46 per share, down sharply from $6.63 a year ago due to charges related to cost overruns and schedule slippage in legacy programs. Operating margin collapsed to 4.1% from 11.9%, and free cash flow turned negative at $150 million. The company reaffirmed its 2025 sales guidance of $73.75 billion to $74.75 billion and free cash flow outlook of $6.6 billion to $6.8 billion, but lowered its GAAP EPS forecast to $21.70-$22.00, from $27+ previously. IRS Dispute and 'Golden Dome' Talks Adding to the pressure, Lockheed's CFO reportedly confirmed that the IRS is seeking $4.6 billion in additional income taxes. According to Reuters, the company is challenging the claim through the IRS Independent Office of Appeals and is prepared to pursue judicial action if necessary. Meanwhile, CEO James Taiclet confirmed discussions with U.S. officials over former President Trump's proposed $175 billion 'Golden Dome' missile shield. While no contracts have been awarded, Taiclet said Lockheed is 'all in' on the concept. Lockheed Martin reached a 52-week high of $618.95 on Oct. 21, 2024, and a 52-week low of $410.11 on July 22, 2025, the day after it reported second-quarter results, marking an approximate 34% decline from its peak. Price Action: At last check Wednesday, LMT shares were trading higher by 2.70% to $421.82. Read Next:Photo by JHVEPhoto via Shutterstock Latest Ratings for LMT Date Firm Action From To Mar 2022 Wells Fargo Maintains Equal-Weight Mar 2022 Morgan Stanley Maintains Overweight Feb 2022 Wolfe Research Upgrades Peer Perform Outperform View More Analyst Ratings for LMT View the Latest Analyst Ratings UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? LOCKHEED MARTIN (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Lockheed Martin Under Intense Wall Street Pressure On Mounting Program Risks, Q2 Woes originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why First Solar (FSLR) Stock Is Up Today
What Happened? Shares of solar panel manufacturer First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) jumped 3.1% in the morning session after analysts at Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock. The financial firm boosted its target to $203.00 from $186.00 while maintaining a "Positive" rating on the solar panel manufacturer's shares. This move suggests growing confidence in First Solar's financial outlook and market performance. The optimism from Susquehanna was echoed by Morgan Stanley, which also adjusted its price target higher to $215 from $194 on the same day. This positive sentiment from Wall Street can often attract investor interest, as it points to potential upside in the stock's value based on analysts' research and expectations for the company's future growth. After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $177.75, up 1.1% from previous close. Is now the time to buy First Solar? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. What Is The Market Telling Us First Solar's shares are extremely volatile and have had 34 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today's move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock gained 5.1% on the news that an analyst at Jefferies raised the price target for the company. The firm boosted its price target on First Solar to $194 from $192, while keeping a "Buy" rating on the shares. This move signals confidence in the company's future performance. Adding to the positive sentiment, RBC Capital also recently increased its price target to $200, citing potential for increased demand. Analysts at Jefferies noted that while concerns about tariffs and the Inflation Reduction Act have weighed on market estimates, they anticipate that clarity on these issues will lead to higher sales volumes in 2026. The firm projects that First Solar's revenue and core earnings for 2025 will surpass current market expectations. However, not all analysts were as bullish. Barclays lowered its price target to $216 from $222, though it maintained an "Overweight" rating, expecting a quiet upcoming earnings report. First Solar is down 4.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $177.75 per share, it is trading 30.5% below its 52-week high of $255.75 from September 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of First Solar's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,926. Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft (MSFT) to Alphabet (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO) to Monster Beverage (MNST) could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we've identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Did Plug Power Stock Deserve Today's Price Pop?
Key Points Susquehanna analyst Biju Perincheril raised his price target on Plug Power stock by 80% today. He also raised it by just $0.80. And he didn't even call the stock a buy. 10 stocks we like better than Plug Power › Shares of Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), one of the highest-profile companies involved in the hydrogen power revolution, enjoyed a solid rise this morning as its shares rocketed 8.1% through 10:10 a.m. ET. The reason for the rise is no mystery: This morning, Susquehanna analyst Biju Perincheril raised his price target on Plug stock by an astounding 80% -- from $1 a share to $1.80. The bigger question is whether Plug Power stock deserved to jump even 8.1% on this change in one analyst's opinion. And whether investors should buy Plug Power stock. Is Plug Power's pop justified? The first question is tricky. On the one hand, an 80% price target hike seems unusually generous, and hints at some important underlying change in the company affected. On the other hand, a price target change of only $0.80 doesn't. It's also worth pointing out that after Plug's share price jump today, the stock already costs more than Perincheril says it's worth -- more than $1.90 per share. And Perincheril is only "neutral" on the stock. He doesn't say you should buy it. Is Plug Power stock a buy? Neither do I. Perincheril argues, in a note on The Fly, that renewable energy stocks that deserve buy ratings are those with a strong U.S. manufacturing presence and "robust backlogs" such as GE Vernova and First Solar. Most of Plug's manufacturing assets are located in the U.S., true, but the company makes no mention of strong backlog in its latest 10-K filing. To the contrary, sales dropped nearly 30% last year, which suggests backlog may actually be shrinking. With a long history of losing money and burning cash, I suspect Plug stock is still a sell. Should you invest $1,000 in Plug Power right now? Before you buy stock in Plug Power, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Plug Power wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,056,790!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends First Solar. The Motley Fool recommends Ge Vernova. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Did Plug Power Stock Deserve Today's Price Pop? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nabors Industries Rebounds as Hedge Funds Eye a Quiet Comeback
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) is one of the best oil drilling stocks according to hedge funds right now. On July 1, Susquehanna upgraded its price target from $29 to $32 while maintaining a Neutral rating. The call highlights a solid Q1 performance and suggests the worst of the 2025 offshore slowdown may be behind us. A modest target bump, but when big funds track upgrades like this, it signals cautious optimism in a pressured drilling environment. That upgrade came shortly after Nabors' Q1 earnings, where they reported revenue slightly above expectations and completed the acquisition of Parker Wellbore, adding complementary drilling services to their offering. The stock surged over 10% in the week following, recovering from a dip earlier in the year . For hedge funds hunting value in upstream players, Nabors represents a deep-value reopening of narrative: offshore exposure with improving earnings and an expanded services footprint. Pixabay/Public Domain Nabors Industries is a Houston-based drilling contractor with a fleet of around 300 land rigs. They offer drilling services, wellbore tools, managed-pressure and directional drilling, plus the RigCLOUD edge computing platform. Simple, drilling-heavy, and ready for a cycle rerate. While we acknowledge the potential of NBR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: Blackstone drops out of consortium bid for TikTok US, source says
July 18 (Reuters) - Private equity giant Blackstone has withdrawn from a consortium seeking to invest in TikTok's U.S. operations, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. The latest change came as uncertainty has mounted and there have been several delays in the TikTok deal now at the center of U.S.-China trade talks. Blackstone had planned to take a minority stake in the TikTok U.S. business in a deal orchestrated by President Donald Trump. The consortium is led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, current investors in TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance. The group had emerged as the front-runner to secure TikTok's U.S. business in a deal under which U.S. investors would own 80% of TikTok, while ByteDance would retain a minority stake. Blackstone declined to comment. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The deadline for ByteDance to divest the popular social media app in the U.S. has been repeatedly postponed, creating uncertainty for investors. Last month, Trump signed a third executive order extending the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban, moving the cutoff to September 17. In April 2024, Congress passed a law mandating a sale or shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025. Extensions to the deadline have drawn criticism from some lawmakers, who argue the Trump administration is 'flouting the law' and ignoring national security concerns related to Chinese control over TikTok. ByteDance is exploring various options to address these concerns, including selling or restructuring its U.S. operations. The Chinese social media giant, which raked in $43 billion in the first three months of this year, recently surpassed Meta in quarterly revenue, sources told Reuters. The U.S. consortium, favored by the administration in any TikTok deal, also includes KKR, as well as new investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Reuters previously reported. Oracle is also likely to take a stake. It is unclear whether other bidders in the consortium are still involved. A deal had been in the works this spring to spin off TikTok's U.S. operations into a new U.S.-based firm. Talks were put on hold after China indicated it would not approve the transaction, following Trump's announcement of steep tariffs on Chinese goods. If a sale is finalized, the new U.S. app is expected to be owned by a joint venture formed by an American investor consortium and ByteDance, which would maintain a minority stake. TikTok is already working on a U.S.-specific app, sources told Reuters. Blackstone's exit highlights the complexities and uncertainties involved in the deal, as the ongoing talks over TikTok's fate have now become part of Trump's broader trade negotiations with China, and Trump said he would speak to President Xi Jinping about it.
