Lockheed Martin Stock Hits Record Highs Before Earnings

Defense and aerospace firm Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT) is scheduled to report earnings before the open on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Per Reuters, Wall Street expects the company's third-quarter adjusted earnings per share to come in at $6.50 on revenue of $17.28 billion, the latter of which is a 2.8% year-over-year increase. Ahead of the event, LMT is up 0.4% at $614.04, and earlier touched a record high of $618.95.

Over the last two years, LMT finished post-earnings sessions higher five times, and averaged a 3.3% pop, regardless of direction. This time around, the options pits expect a next-day swing of 5.6%.

Speaking of the options pits, Lockheed Martin stock is seeing higher-than-usual intraday put volume before the earnings call. Around the session's halfway point, 6,156 calls and 4,545 puts have traded hands, with bearish bets running at double the amount usually seen at this point. New positions are opening at the most active, weekly 10/25 540-strike call. 

Over the last 12 months, the security cleared marked several significant achievements including conquering early 2024 resistance at the $460 level and a mid-summer post-earnings rally that set it on a path of higher highs. LMT now boasts a 35.4% year-to-date lead.

Despite LMT's outperformance, analysts still aren't on board. Relative to its current perch, the stock's 12-month consensus target price of $588.77 is a 4.2% discount, and nine of 21 covering brokerages rate it a "hold" or worse. This negative sentiment could shift if Lockheed Martin stock grabs more record highs in the event of a quarterly beat.