Lockheed Martin shares close higher on Friday, company in talks with several European countries over potential F-35 orders

According to a March 3rd statement by Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT), it is currently in discussions with the Swiss, the Belgian and the Spanish governments in regard to potential orders of the companys F-35 fighter aircraft. Luring new clients is a step towards a considerable cost reduction of Lockheeds military jets, following several production delays. The companys clientèle is at present comprised of the United States and 10 allied nations.

Lockheed Martin shares closed higher on Friday, while marking their fourth gain in the past six trading sessions. The stock edged up 0.29% ($0.77) to $267.76, with the intraday high and the intraday low being at $268.33 and $266.25 respectively. In the week ended on March 5th the shares of the global security and aerospace company added 0.66% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a fifth consecutive period of gains. The stock has extended its advance to 0.44% so far during the current month, following a 6.07% increase in February. The latter has been the most considerable monthly gain since November 2016. For the entire past year, Lockheed Martin shares gained 15.10%.

“There are quite a few other European nations that are looking at perhaps having the F-35 as an opportunity”, Jeff Babione, leader of the F-35 program, said in a statement at the Avalon Airshow in Australia, cited by Reuters. “We are starting to see other customers think about the F-35 being added to their fleet.”

According to Babione, customers, alongside the US, will have to begin ordering in blocks beyond annual commitments in order a target cost of $80 million per jet is achieved by 2020.

Lockheed Martin is urging clients to agree to a three-year block purchase, which would facilitate cost reduction.

“The longer we do it the more we are able to aggregate,” Lockheed Martins Babione added. “Maybe in the future you are talking about a multi-year and you could do a five year multi-year and increase the savings.”

On the other hand, Canada is still expected to make a choice between Lockheeds F-35 jet and Boeings Super Hornet.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Lockheed Martin stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $267.95
R2 – $268.14
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $268.33
R4 (Long Breakout) – $268.90
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $269.57
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $269.85

S1 – $267.57
S2 – $267.38
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $267.19
S4 (Short Breakout) – $266.62
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $265.95
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $265.67

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $267.32
R1 – $270.44
R2 – $273.12
R3 – $276.24
R4 – $279.36

S1 – $264.64
S2 – $261.52
S3 – $258.84
S4 – $256.16