Defense Stocks - Recent Articles at the Defense Market Report

• Defense Investing - Cyber Security: The Next Great Defense Opportunity posted June 16, 2009 - www.HomelandDefenseStocks.com, a leading global investor and industry portal for the defense and security sector, within Investorideas.com, presents a follow-up to the May 6 th feature on defense stocks, "Defense Budget Winners and Losers", by Lisa Springer, CFA, as attention builds on the cyber security sector.
• Defense Budget Winners and Losers posted May 06, 2009 - How Defense Companies Boeing (NYSE:BA), Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), Optex Systems Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB:OPXS) and others are Impacted
• Recent IPOs were strong performers posted April 02, 2007 - Let’s look at how some of the defense and homeland security sector initial public offerings (IPOs) chronicled in this space have performed over the last six months or so.
• Airport security is a burgeoning market posted March 27, 2007 - Put aside the rhetoric from your next-door neighbour and mainstream media reports of individual horror stories, airport security is a real problem – and for investors possibly a gold mine.
• AeroVironment flying high posted February 20, 2007 - Investors making a bet on the January initial public offering (IPO) of Monrovia, California-based AeroVironment have seen an almost 24 per cent gain on their money.
• Great Lakes Dredging looks great posted January 31, 2007 - Chicago-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation is the largest dredging contractor in the US and one of the largest in the world.
• Aerospace and defense sector outlook robust posted January 12, 2007 - Equity analysts and rating agencies predict a strong performance in the aerospace and defense sectors on the back of ongoing US military activity in the Middle East and elsewhere as well as recovery in the global airline industry.
• Spirit Aerospace proves to be a good bet posted November 28, 2006 - On 8 November in this column we detailed the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of Spirit Aerospace.
• Ametek posts record earnings posted November 27, 2006 - New York Stock Exchange-traded Ametek, a manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with a strong profile in aerospace and defense, posted a record third quarter with annualized sales of approximately US$1.8 billion.
• Future looks good for Spirit Aerospace posted November 08, 2006 - Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, a non-OEM designer and manufacturer of structural parts for commercial and military aircraft, announced the terms for its initial public offering (IPO) on October 30. The company is a subsidiary of Canadian buyout firm Onex Corporation.
• Private equity eyes IT play? posted October 24, 2006 - Rumours are afoot that New York-based private equity firm Blackstone Group LP may make a play for French information technology services group Atos Origin SA. The company is a major provider of IT and business services to the European public sector, including the defense and security sectors.
• The ripple effect posted October 20, 2006 - The recent announcement by European aerospace and defense company EADS that the jumbo A380 to be manufactured by its Airbus unit will be delayed by an additional two years should put the fear of God into some investors with short-term horizons.
• SAIC sets IPO terms posted October 04, 2006 - Employee-owned Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has set terms for its initial public offering (IPO) of 75 million shares at an estimated price range of US$13 to US$15 per share.
• Separating travelers from their luggage posted September 09, 2006 - In the famous 1967 film “The Graduate”, a scene includes the one-word career advice given to Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman, as the key to success in business: plastics.
• Dirty Harry’s favourite company poised for growth posted August 25, 2006 - The company that Clint Eastwood made famous in the Dirty Harry film looks poised for significant gains, buoyed by military sales.
• FASB lease action significant posted July 21, 2006 - There is an old adage taught in every business school curriculum: read company annual reports from the back.
• Hi-Shear is flying high posted posted July 19, 2006 - Performance of small cap stocks is inherently volatile as movement is often predicated on a single or several orders rather than the sustained activity over multiple sectors experienced by major players.
• Horizon Lines posts big earnings posted July 13, 2006 - Since its initial public offering launched in late September 2005 at US$10.00 per share, Horizon Lines, with a market capitalisation of about US$550 million, has posted enviable earnings.
• RBC Bearings on a roll posted July 04, 2006 - Just as one doesn’t have to be a combatant to be in the army, a company does not have to manufacture weapons to be a defense contractor.
• Boeing’s good fortune will create ripple effect posted June 16, 2006 - While Boeing is not a Small Cap company by a long shot, investors may give heed to the company’s recent good fortune.
• Armor Holdings Deserves a Look posted June 5, 2006 - New York Stock Exchange-listed Armor Holdings Inc and Stewart & Stevenson Services Inc, also listed on that exchange, have completed their merger on May 25. The deal is valued at about US$1.1 billion.
• Another IT offering filed posted May 26, 2006 - Just when you thought the defense IT market was saturated, Stanley Inc registered on 12 May for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise US$130 million.
• DynCorp launches IPO posted May 11, 2006 - In a business marked by predominantly privately-held companies and companies whose outsourced civilian police and military support services form only a part of larger defense-related activities, the initial public offering (IPO) of a company such as DynCorp International is a rarity.
• CACI keeping options open posted May 08, 2006 - After a two-year hiatus, CACI International, the Virginia-based provider of IT and network solutions programs to defense and intelligence agencies, is back to making acquisitions and would possibly be open to being acquired itself, according to statements made by JP London, the company's chief executive officer during a recent conference call to analysts.
• IT still on the hot list posted April 24, 2006 - The US government is expected to spend US$93 billion on information technology in 2011, up from US$75 billion in 2006, although the spending request for 2007 is only one-half a per cent higher than this year, according to estimates in the market.
• BAE bailing out of Airbus posted April 10, 2006 - If investors are nervous about the future for US defense equities, they should take solace from a decision by BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor, to sell its 20 per cent stake in Airbus to parent company EADS to pursue acquisitions in the defense sector in the US.
• All general statements are false posted March 31, 2006 - Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, General Dynamics and Ratheon - For the last year, predictions of cuts in US defense spending for hardware – particularly traditional weapons – have been resounding throughout the market, based primarily on statements out of Washington.
• Standardized container security: not yet posted March 13, 2006 - The takeover of the P&O ports portfolio by state-owned Dubai Ports World (DPW), which would have allowed the company to operate container terminals in six US seaports until a concession was made in the wake of legislative uproar, has brought security at US seaports to the forefront.
• Airport security presents opportunities posted March 10, 2006 - The events of 11 September 2001 have firmly cemented the need for increased vigilance at US airports. This watchfulness has generated a market for high-technology equipment.
• Battery suppliers leading a charge posted March 01, 2006 - TransDigm, EnerSys - Investors seeking to tap the lucrative defense market should look further afield from the traditional weapons and IT companies. The defense and homeland security markets are not confined to weapons and IT companies.
• UK port deal has US security overtones posted February 22, 2006 - The US$6.8 billion sale of the UK's Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co (P&O) to Dubai-based sovereign-backed DP World has created some tension on Capitol Hill over US national security issues.
• London and Washington squabble over defense posted February 15, 2006 - General Electric, Rolls-Royce - The US has put another spike in its troubled relationship with the UK over defense procurement. Washington plans on scrapping a US$2.4 billion deal for development of an alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
• Defense M&A activity rode high in 2005 posted February 03, 2006 - DRS Technologies, L-3 Communications - With an estimated US$38 billion in worldwide M&A activity in the aerospace and defense sectors, 2005 was a very good year. And the current year also looks promising.
• Biometrics: Big Business posted January 26, 2006 - Qinetiq Group, Gabriel Technologies Corporation, Viisage Technology and Identix Inc.  - Much of the discussion in the defense and homeland security market in the last week centers on whether the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of US-based defense research company Qinetiq Group will be open to retail investors.
• Qinetiq IPO is big , but controversial news posted January 18, 2005 - QinetiQ - UK-based and mostly state-owned defense research and engineering company QinetiQ, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) research laboratory, announced on January 12 its intention to float in an initial public offering (IPO) valued at GBP1.1 billion.
• Europe is focus of security technology posted January 13, 2006 - Recent terrorist attacks have demonstrated the urgent need for the European Union (EU) to enhance its security capabilities, particularly at its borders.
• The new year has started off with a bang – not only in the US but throughout other markets posted January 05, 2006 - Optex Systems, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company (EADS) - In the US, Irvine Sensors Corporation announced on January 3 that it has purchased 70 per cent of the stock of Texas-based privately held Optex Systems, Inc for US$14 million.
• Acquisitions in Defense Sector Continue Apace as Year Ends posted December 30, 2005 - Boeing, Lockheed Martin - If one statistic can mark activity in the defense sector as the year draws to a close, it is a large year-on-year gain reported in the Standard & Poor's (S&P) aerospace and defense index.
• Defense activity still strong posted December 20, 2005 - Anteon International, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Lockheed Martin Corporation - In spite of ongoing talks in Washington about curtailing defense spending, activity in the defense sector is still robust although there has been a t least one surprise.
• US defense outlook favorable - Boeing is on a roll posted December 15, 2005 - Boeing, Allied Defense Group (ADG), View Systems (VYST.OB) -  In a report dated December 12, Fitch Ratings said it expects stable to improving credit quality in the North American aerospace and defense industry in 2006, with slowing defense sector growth offset by strong commercial aerospace performance.
• It's not just the big companies posted November 30, 2005 - European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co - Although the world business press tends to spend considerable time focused on the acquisition of large companies in the defense sector by other major defense players, at least one recent development demonstrates that small companies are not out of contention as acquisition targets.
• Computer Sciences deal sputters posted November 22, 2005 - At midday on November 21, shares in Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) had dropped over 12 percent following reports that Lockheed Martin Corporation along with private equity firms Warburg Pincus, Texas Pacific Group and Blackstone Group had halted plans to acquire the company. At midday, CSC was trading at US$48.06.
• Mixed signals from Wall Street posted November 16th, 2005 - Computer Sciences Corporation - After three years of aggressive defense spending, investors have become resigned to the Pentagon scaling back its more than US$400 billion annual budget.
• Global Secure Big Guns Will Not Hurt Proposed IPO posted November 11, 2005 - Global Secure Corporation - While there appears to be no landslide of initial public offerings (IPOs) destined to launch before the end of this calendar year, at least one offering in the defense sector is in the pipeline.
• Plenty of opportunities remaining - Global Secure Corporation IPO Expected Next Week posted November 02, 2005 - Global Secure Corporation, On Track Innovations Ltd - Lest anyone think the fizz has run out of the equities market for the defense and homeland security sectors, there have been some recent notable deals as well as others in the pipeline.
• Defense Sector Continues as Robust posted October 24, 2005 - PowerSystems International - The Pentagon has told the US armed forces to cut US$8 billion from fiscal year 2007 budgets -- and this may just be the tip of the iceberg.
• DRS Technologies Lands Significant Defense Contracts posted October 17, 2005 - DRS Technologies, BAE Systems - In spite of an ongoing negative outlook for the US defense industry, as again indicated by rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) mid-October prognostication, New Jersey-based DRS Technologies has landed a flurry of deals in October, with a potential overall value above US$830 million.
• Atlas bidders narrowing posted on October 10, 2005 - L-3 Communications, BAE Systems -The sale of Atlas Elektronik, the German subsidiary of BAE Systems, has been narrowed to three bidders: French defense company Thales; a joint bid from German steel group ThyssenKrupp and aerospace and defense company EADS; and, heavily acquisitive US defense company L-3 Communications.
• US Defense Cuts Not Hurting Everyone posted October 3, 2005 - Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), Engineered Support Systems Inc (ESSI), DynCorp International Inc - Despite prognostications that proposed cuts in the US defense budget are bad news for some companies, especially contractors manufacturing military weapons hardware, it is business as usual for some defense companies operating in information technology and other peripheral sectors.