Northrop Grumman price target raised to $515 from $500 at RBC Capital

RBC Capital raised the firm’s price target on Northrop Grumman to $515 from $500 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares as part of a broader research note previewing Q3 results in Aerospace & Defense. This should be a favorable reporting season for the defense stocks, with low-to-mid single digit defense sales growth and strong backlogs seen as a positive for sentiment, even though revenue comps in the second half of the year should get more challenging, placing the focus more on defense margins, the analyst tells investors in a research note. While expectations for defense margin improvement are more muted however, the elevated global tensions will limit downside risk and amplify any positive results, the firm added.