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Weekly Roundup Oct 5 – Oct 9 2015: CNBC’s Jim Cramer Talks Up Defense Stocks as 3Q Earnings Season Looms & more


Weekly Roundup
Oct 5 – Oct 9 2015

A Note From Our President & Founder Jim Garrettson

One of the most listened-to voices in business media singled out the defense sector and one of its biggest players as among the best performers during recent times in one of the choppiest periods in history for stock markets.

Jim Cramer of “Mad Money on CNBC” fame offered this take in response to a caller that inquired last night about Raytheon’s stock performance and future outlook:

“Raytheon is fantastic! The defense stocks are in a secular bull market. They’re not even cutting the budget here and look at the paper. Is there anyone that doesn’t want a Patriot missile? I mean I want Patriot missiles in my backyard and I like my neighbors!”

This is not the first time Cramer has given a positive outlook for defense stocks this year as he said in May that the sector was primed for gains on sales of weapons and other military equipment to U.S. allies in the midst of American defense spending reductions.

Through three quarters, Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index of 30 publicly-traded contractor stocks is up approximately 4 percent despite the third-quarter volatility that sent the Index briefly into a correction, or 10 percent off its 52-week high.

Northrop Grumman was the best percentage performer of the five largest U.S. defense contractor stocks at a gain of 13 percent to $165.95/share.

Lockheed Martin’s stock rose 7 percent to $207.31/share with Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon at relatively flat levels from Jan. 2.

We’ll have a clearer picture of the defense industry’s health and outlook later this month as these five companies and other contracting firms report their third quarter earnings.

GovCon Wire, Executive Mosaic’s home of financial journalism for the government contracting industry, will have all the facts and figures as they come in.

THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES

Reuters: Lockheed Eyes IT Business Combination with Another US Contractor
Lockheed Martin is reportedly discussing a potential transaction involving its IT and government services business with at least four other contracting firms.
Dave Wajsgras: Raytheon Buys Foreground Security to Grow Cyber Services Portfolio
Foreground is based in Herndon, Virginia and will operate under the name of “Raytheon Foreground Security.”
Steven Mahon Joins SAIC as EVP, General Counsel
Mahon will start the role on Nov. 9 and is a former a practicing lawyer for the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and the U.S. Army Reserve.
Former DHS CIO Richard Spires Named Learning Tree CEO
Spires previously led San Francisco-based Resilient Network Systems as chief executive for nearly two years after he left the government in Spring 2013.
Tom Romeo: Maximus Extends 15-Year ‘Ticket to Work’ Program Support
Individuals with disabilities receive employment services through this Social Security Administration-run program.
ManTech Awarded Potential $250M Cyber Range Contract; Bill Varner Comments
GSA’s FEDSIM hub selected ManTech for the contract to build and maintain cyber training environments for DISA and the Marine Corps.
Dell Lands FBI Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Contract; Steve Harris Comments
Approximately 55, 000 named users will be connected to the system that will be built for data access across multiple devices.
Kay Sears of Intelsat General on Industry’s Role in Military Satcom Programs, Firm’s DC Area Presence
The Intelsat unit’s president also offers her outlook on hosted payload usage in this conversation with ExecutiveBiz.
Jim Lawler on ICF’s GovCon Recruiting Agenda and Job Search Advantages for Candidates
ICF’s human resources lead tells ExecutiveBiz why he feels those seeking to enter the contractor and government workforces have the upper hand.
Dave Rey: Salesforce to Offer Analytics Cloud for Gov’t Under FedRAMP ATO
Salesforce’s public sector sales head overviews the company’s latest certification under the government-wide cloud computing program.
Senators Vote 70-27 to Send 2016 NDAA to White House
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter indicated last week that the president will likely veto the bill that allocates $612 billion in fiscal year 2016 military spending.
Frank Kendall: Lawmakers Removed NDAA’s Acquisition Reform Language Under Debate
The military’s lead acquisition official says the Pentagon anticipates no impact on staff size and structure of the Defense Acquisition Board.
Tiffany Hixson: GSA’s Consolidated Professional Services Contract Vehicle Goes Live
The agency shifted eight different professional services schedules into one vehicle and will hold a webinar Oct. 21 to discuss the move with contractors.
Sens. Richard Burr, Dianne Feinstein: Senate to Tackle Cyber Bill After Recess
The Senate will take another attempt at passage of a bill to facilitate cybersecurity information exchanges between government and industry.
John Honeycutt Appointed to Manage NASA’s Space Launch System Program
Honeycutt will lead a team of more than 4, 200 civilian and contractor employees that work on the space agency’s future heavy-lift rocket.
Mary Davie: GSA Updates Federal Acquisition Gateway Platform
The Federal Acquisition Service’s integrated technology services lead unveils the latest two hallways on GSA’s online portal for acquisition personnel.

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