Keysight Technologies Rallied on Earnings Beat and Improved Outlook

BAE Systems confirmed involvement in a potential acquisition of Dutch drone tracking specialist Robin Radar Systems and announced a new collaboration with Arteris and SiFive focused on secure microelectronics for U.S. defence projects. The microelectronics partnership is part of a wider U.S. programme aimed at supply chain security in defence-focused chip design. BAE Systems is a £52.6b aerospace and defense group with operations across the United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Australia, Saudi Arabia and wider Europe. The next test is whether these initiatives turn into identifiable contract activity, such as BAE Systems being named as the acquirer when Robin Radar is formally sold or being listed on larger Trusted and Assured Microelectronics follow on awards. Clear order wins that reference drone detection, secure SoCs or related U.S. programmes would show these announcements are feeding into the £75b plus backlog rather than staying at the pilot stage.

Jim Cramer said he likes L3Harris Technologies and advised investors to build a position gradually rather than trying to pick a bottom, speaking during the October 7 lightning round of Mad Money. Cramer suggested buying in increments, using a $230 stock divided by 10 as a $23 stock, buying the first tranche at 23 and adding down to 20. The comments followed L3Harris's second-quarter results, which showed orders of $7.3 billion, a book-to-bill ratio of 1.2x, and a record backlog of $42 billion. Revenue rose 8% to approximately $5.9 billion, diluted EPS climbed 28% to $3.13, and free cash flow increased 37% to $771 million. Missile Solutions revenue grew 14% to approximately $1.05 billion, while Communications & Spectrum Dominance operating margin rose to 26.9% from 24.6%. Cramer's interest comes even as L3Harris trades at approximately 18.7x forward earnings, above Lockheed Martin at 16.5x and Northrop Grumman at 16.6x, and as hedge fund holders slipped to 56 in Q2 from 59 in Q1.

Microchip Technology said on Friday that it has acquired VORAGO Technologies, a Texas-based provider of radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant microcontrollers and microprocessors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and Microchip said the acquisition is not expected to be material to its consolidated financial results. The company said the deal positions it to capture a larger share of the aerospace and defense and space markets, which have seen accelerating investment and demand across both defense and commercial space programs. Microchip added that the acquisition brings a family of radiation-hardened MCUs and MPUs that complement its existing aerospace and defense product lines, along with VORAGO's patented HARDSIL process technology. Shares of Microchip rose 1.6% to $76.73 in premarket trading.

Novra Technologies Inc. announced that its subsidiary International Datacasting Corporation has qualified across all five streams of the Government of Canada's new Defence Drone Initiative Marketplace. The qualification positions Novra, through IDC, to compete for future Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces contracts involving communications, data delivery, systems integration, testing and innovation for uncrewed and autonomous systems. IDC qualified in all five DDI Marketplace streams: UxS and Counter-UxS Systems, Communications and Cyber Systems, Integration and Engineering Services, Test and Training, and Innovation and Experimentation. Launched in July 2026 and led collaboratively by the DND and the Defence Investment Agency, the DDI is designed to accelerate the development, testing and production of uncrewed and autonomous systems for the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard. Novra noted that qualification under the DDI Supply Arrangement does not constitute a contract award or guarantee future business, and that individual opportunities will be subject to applicable Government of Canada procurement processes.

Mercury Systems, Inc. celebrated the expansion of its Phoenix production facility, adding 50,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space to increase production capacity and accelerate delivery timelines through vertical integration in support of critical U.S. and international defense programs. The company has invested to build out a new, highly automated manufacturing facility on its existing Phoenix campus, which is expected to create more than 50 jobs in the next year, with significant capacity for future growth. Mercury's Phoenix campus is already the company's largest manufacturing center, with more than 400 employees, and the existing facility manufactures printed circuit board assemblies used across Mercury's product lines and delivers memory solutions, high-performance space drives, and advanced packaging technologies built to operate in extreme environments. Operations in the new building began in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 and will allow the company to ramp up production for a number of critical products and programs, including its Common Processing Architecture programs. Tod Brindlinger, Mercury's Senior Vice President of Operations, said the company sees strong demand signals across its portfolio, ending fiscal year 2026 with record bookings and backlog that the expanded production facility will help it execute against.

Gilat Satellite Networks said Thursday that its Gilat DataPath unit has received orders totaling more than $8M from the U.S. Department of War for field services and SATCOM system upgrades supporting deployed military communications systems. Deliveries under the orders are expected over the next 12 months. The company disclosed the award in a press release. The orders add to Gilat's recent U.S. defense work, which includes a prior win of over $32M for transportable U.S. defense communications systems.