Analyst Update: Workhorse Group Inc, AK Steel Holding Corporation, and Lockheed Martin Corporation

Analysts are weighing in on truck manufacturer Workhorse Group Inc (NASDAQ:WKHS), steel stock AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS), and aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on WKHS, AKS, and LMT.

• WKHS is up 7.5% at $9.58, after Maxim Group issued a price target hike to $22 from $15 and reiterated its "buy" rating for the truck manufacturer. The analyst waxed optimistic on the prospects stemming from WKHS partner VT Hackney being chosen as one of six vendors to prototype trucks for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which could result in a $5 billion procurement. WKHS has nearly doubled during the past year, but remains 18% off its all-time high of $11.70 in early April. Although Workhorse Group Inc's short interest has fallen by nearly a quarter over the last two reporting periods, it would still take over 13 days of trading for traders to cover these shorted shares, at WKHS' average daily volume -- plenty of fuel for a short squeeze to drive additional gains.
  
  
• Upbeat analyst attention has yet another steel stock on the move, with AKS is up 4.6% at $4.30, after an upgrade to "sector weight" from "underweight" by Keybanc. AKS has dropped 39% since touching an annual high in late July, but found a foothold atop its 200-day moving averages, and still boasts a year-to-date gain of 92%. Meanwhile, 10 out of 10 analysts rate the shares a "hold" or worse, leaving plenty of room for further upgrades to boost the shares even higher.
  
  
• LMT is up 1.4% at $240.73, after announcing an $87 million contract with the U.S. Air Force for its Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb kits. In addition, Wells Fargo upgraded the aerospace stock to "outperform" from "market perform." LMT is up 18% year-over-year, and touched a record high of $266.93 in mid-August. In the options pits, LMT 50-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits at 1.96, higher than 93% of all other readings from the past 12 months. An unwinding of these bearish bets could act as further tailwinds for Lockheed Martin Corporation.