L3Harris Technologies

Aerospace and defense technology company L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) recently revealed that it has been awarded $117 million for the third year of a U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command contract. The 10-year contract of the Maintenance Of Space Situational Awareness Integrated Capabilities (MOSSAIC) program has a total value of $1.2 billion.

Following the news, shares of the company rose marginally to close at $257.90 on Wednesday.

Under the program, L3Harris will maintain and upgrade radar and optical sensors, and command and control systems that provide timely, accurate space domain awareness data for military, civil and commercial users.

Management Commentary

The President of L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems, Ed Zoiss, said, “Better understanding the behavior of objects in space is critical to warfighting operations. Our modernization initiatives enable the U.S. Space Force to better understand threats to satellites.”

Wall Street’s Take

Recently, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $320, which implies upside potential of 24.1% from current levels.

The Wall Street community is cautiously optimistic about the stock and has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on nine Buys and four Holds. L3Harris Technologies’ average price forecast of $267.62 implies that the stock has upside potential of 3.8% from current levels. Shares have gained 23.6% over the past year.

Hedge Funds’ Confidence

TipRanks’ Hedge Fund Trading Activity tool shows that hedge fund confidence in L3Harris is currently Neutral. Further, the cumulative change in holdings across all 14 hedge funds that were active in the last quarter was an increase of 5,800 shares.

Conclusion

L3Harris’ stock has rewarded investors handsomely over the past year. The unabated continuation of this contract with the U.S. Space Force is further expected to provide revenue certainty over the next few years, along with a likely stock price appreciation.