Northrop Grumman Rises as Investors Weigh Contract Momentum and Defense Demand

Northrop Grumman (NOC) is up 4.2% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to a mix of recent contract momentum, steady execution on major programs, and renewed investor interest in defense names ahead of earnings. There does not appear to be one single headline driving the jump, so this could be because buyers are focusing on Northrop Grumman’s backlog strength, missile propulsion wins, and its stronger 2026 outlook.

Details:

Northrop Grumman said in its first-quarter 2026 results that sales rose 4.4% year over year, diluted earnings per share reached $6.14, and full-year guidance was reaffirmed, which helped support the view that operations remain on solid footing.

The company announced that second-quarter 2026 results are scheduled for July 21, 2026, which may be drawing positioning from investors expecting another update on programs such as B-21, Sentinel, and missile systems.

Northrop Grumman previously disclosed a $94.3 million U.S. Navy award tied to a second-stage solid rocket motor program, reinforcing demand in a part of the portfolio that has been benefiting from emphasis on missile and hypersonic defense.

Recent Defense Department contract notices also showed additional Northrop Grumman awards in late June, adding to the sense that contract activity remains active even if no single award was large enough on its own to explain the entire share-price move.

Sources:

Northrop Grumman, Investing.com, MarketBeat

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$NOC Insider Trading Activity

$NOC insiders have traded $NOC stock on the open market 35 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 35 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $NOC stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

KATHY J WARDEN (Chair, CEO and President) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 10,000 shares for an estimated $6,045,000.
ROSHAN S ROEDER (CVP & Pres. Mission Systems) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 2,584 shares for an estimated $1,858,835.
BENJAMIN R. DAVIES (CVP & Pres. Defense Systems) sold 2,189 shares for an estimated $1,575,255
MICHAEL A HARDESTY (Corp VP, Controller & CAO) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 1,646 shares for an estimated $1,159,767.
KATHRYN G SIMPSON (Corp VP & General Counsel) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 973 shares for an estimated $688,452.
MARK A III WELSH has made 0 purchases and 23 sales selling 190 shares for an estimated $119,338.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

$NOC Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 782 institutional investors add shares of $NOC stock to their portfolio, and 688 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS removed 4,381,169 shares (-38.2%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $2,972,097,426
CAPITAL WORLD INVESTORS added 3,458,109 shares (+100.7%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $2,345,911,983
WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP added 2,170,005 shares (+77.5%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,472,087,991
CAPITAL RESEARCH GLOBAL INVESTORS added 1,215,670 shares (+80030.9%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $824,686,214
CLEARBRIDGE INVESTMENTS, LLC removed 537,486 shares (-90.7%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $364,619,752
BLACKROCK, INC. added 501,673 shares (+4.8%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $340,324,929
J. STERN & CO. LLP removed 421,215 shares (-99.8%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $285,743,831

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$NOC Government Contracts

We have seen $7,798,197,803 of award payments to $NOC over the last year.

Here are some of the awards which we have have seen pay out the most over the last year:

GROUND-BASED STRATEGIC DETERRENT (GBSD) ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENT (EMD) AND EARLY PRODUCTIO...: $962,663,429
E130J ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENT (EMD): $544,564,255
THIS CONTRACT COVERS THE GROUND-BASED MIDCOURSE DEFENSE (GMD) WEAPON SYSTEM (GWS) SYSTEMS ENGINEERING, DESI...: $437,070,839
NEXT GENERATION OVERHEAD PERSISTENT INFRARED POLAR SPACE VEHICLES 1 AND 2 STUDY.: $436,480,894
BLOCK 3 EA SUBSYSTEM HEMISPHERE PRODUCTION: $348,905,035

To track government contracts to publicy traded companies, check out Quiver Quantitative's government contracts dashboard. You can access data on government contracts through the Quiver Quantitative API government contracts endpoint.

$NOC Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $NOC in the last several months. We have seen 3 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

BTIG issued a "Buy" rating on 01/28/2026
B of A Securities issued a "Buy" rating on 01/28/2026
Citigroup issued a "Buy" rating on 01/13/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $NOC, check out Quiver Quantitative's $NOC forecast page.

$NOC Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $NOC recently. We have seen 9 analysts offer price targets for $NOC in the last 6 months, with a median target of $745.0.

Here are some recent targets:

John Godyn from Citigroup set a target price of $587.0 on 07/01/2026
Sheila Kahyaoglu from Jefferies set a target price of $580.0 on 06/26/2026
Gavin Parsons from UBS set a target price of $745.0 on 04/23/2026
Andre Madrid from BTIG set a target price of $815.0 on 04/22/2026
Kristine Liwag from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $745.0 on 04/22/2026
David Strauss from Wells Fargo set a target price of $800.0 on 04/01/2026
Ronald Epstein from B of A Securities set a target price of $750.0 on 01/28/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.