Supply chain bottlenecks and surging costs are hurting Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT) announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue earlier, thanks to a healthy defense budget as the U.S. and its allies responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, the company's 2023 profit forecast came in below Wall Street's estimates, amid supply chain bottlenecks and surging costs.
The defense contractor's shares were last seen up 1.2% to trade at $446.48, as they bounce off a pullback to the $438 level that pushed them below long-time support at their 100-day moving average. LMT reached a Dec. 2, all-time high of $498.80, though, and still boasts an 18.9% year-over-year lead.
Overall options volume is today running at six times the intraday average, with 4,056 calls and 1,365 puts across the tape so far. Most popular is the weekly 1/27 460-strike call, followed by the 450-strike call in the same weekly series, with new positions being opened at both.
Bullish bets have been more popular than usual in the options pits. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Lockheed Martin stock sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.08 that ranks in the 72nd percentile of its annual range.