The U.S. Defense Department requested only 24 F-35 jets for the U.S. Air Force
Aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT) stock is gapping lower today, after a U.S. Defense Department procurement request sent to Congress asked for 24 of the company's F-35 jets for the U.S. Air Force, compared last year's forecast of 48. The halved order has traders eyeing defense sector peers Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC) and RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX) as well.
LMT was last down 5.4% to trade at $451.30, pacing for a third-straight daily drop as it dives below recent support from the 20-day moving average. A floor at the $440 level that contained bear gaps in April and May looks ready to cap today's losses, however. Year-to-date, the equity is down 6.5%.
NOC is down 1.2% to trade at $482.72 at last check, after yesterday failing to conquer a ceiling at $500 that also rejected a May rally. Shares are testing support at their own 20-day trendline, but sport a 12.3% lead for the last 12 months and remain on the positive side of their year-to-date breakeven point.
Unlike its peers, RTX was last seen up 1% to trade at $139.84, following a price-target hike at Jefferies to $155 from $130. The security is set to resume gains after yesterday snapping its eight-day win streak, though it still nabbed a record high of $141.12 last session before pivoting lower. RTX has added over 20% so far in 2025.
In the options pits, LMT is the only one seeing unusual activity. So far today, the stock has seen 13,000 calls and 6,763 puts cross the tape, which is already 2.5 times the overall options volume typically seen in an entire session. The most active contract by far is the July 520 call, followed by the January 2026 600-strike call.