Defense Stock Explodes on Massive Army Contract 💥

Stocks tumbled on Monday after stronger-than-expected economic data spoiled hopes that the Fed would ease up on its rate hike campaign anytime soon.

The S&P 500 was down 1.7%, and the Dow lost more than 500 points to finish with a 1.4% loss. The Nasdaq declined 1.9%, and the small-cap Russell 2K plummeted 2.7%.

Today, futures are shaky in early premarket trading. S&P 500 contracts are currently showing a fractional gain of less than 0.1%.

📈 Crude Declines: A barrel of West Texas Intermediate is down to $76 this morning after peaking at $82.50 on Monday, as crude prices continue to fall in light of the recently announced price cap on Russian oil.

Textron is trending after landing a blockbuster contract.

The aerospace & defense firm announced Monday evening that it had been awarded the US Army contract to replace the venerable Black Hawk helicopter.

Textron's Bell V-280 Valor has been selected as the US Army's new long-range assault aircraft after more than three years of rigorous testing.

The initial contract refines the weapon system design, sustainment, digital enterprise, manufacturing, systems integration, flight-testing, and airworthiness qualification.

Financial details of the contract were not immediately disclosed, but shares of TXT are leading the S&P 500 with a 9.5% gain on the news.

My Take: This is a huge win for TXT, and it will pay dividends for shareholders for many years to come. If TXT can break through resistance at around $77.50, it could be headed for a new 52-week high. TXT also looks like a good value with a P/E of 18.06.

Gitlab is taking off after a strong earnings report.

The software development firm released its Q3 earnings this morning, and the results surpassed analysts' expectations.

Gitlab reported a non-GAAP loss of -$(0.10) per share, against the consensus estimate of -$(0.15).

Revenues of $113.0 million also topped the Street's $106.1 million target.

Gitlab's Q4 and FY2022 guidance also beat consensus estimates.

GTLB is one of today's top movers with a 17.6% gain.

My Take: GTLB has an elevated short percentage of 11.54%, so this rally could have more gas in the tank if the bulls can keep the pressure up and set off a short squeeze.

News of a buyout is skyrocketing shares of Vivint Smart Home.

The security & smart home firm has agreed to be acquired by NRG Energy in an all-cash deal with a total transaction value of $5.2 billion.

NRG Energy will pay $12 per share to acquire the company, representing a 33.4% premium from VVNT's closing price on Monday.

The boards of both companies have already approved the transaction, and NRG controls the necessary shares to approve the transaction.

According to the press release announcing the deal, the companies hope to close the transaction in Q1 2023.

Shares of VVNT are trading actively with a 31.9% gain on the news.

My Take: As is usually the case with this kind of moves, there's not a lot of upside left here. VVNT is already trading close to its acquisition price, so you're a little late to the party if you want to get in on this one.

Scworx is moving higher after an analyst upgrade.

Late Monday afternoon, an analyst at Refinitiv/Verus upgraded WORX from "hold" to "buy."

The news sparked an immediate rally on Monday, and WORX ultimately closed with an 18.3% gain.

Scworx's rally continued into yesterday's after-market, and it's still running hot in this morning's premarket trading session.

WORX is one of this morning's top stocks with a 14.8% gain.

My Take: Momentum traders are pushing this rally as far as it can go, but it might be too steep for its own good. Watch for a potential pullback here.

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