The stock market was trying to bounce back on Tuesday morning from the walloping it took on Monday, but bullish investors seemed hesitant to take a big stand right out of the gate. Shortly after the market opened, most stock market indexes were down slightly, failing to claw back their losses from the previous session.
Even with the continuing worries about the market, in general, stock investors celebrated solid gains in share prices for a couple of stocks. Both Textron (TXT -9.69%) and Vivint Smart Home (VVNT) got some good news that made their shareholders happy, and the rises in the stock prices show that even in a tough market environment, there are still opportunities for smart investors to make money.
Textron gets a big award
Shares of Textron rose 8% on Tuesday morning, climbing toward their best levels of the year. The aerospace and defense specialist got a big government contract that could go a long way toward bolstering its business for years to come.
Textron announced late Monday that the U.S. Army had awarded its Bell Textron subsidiary with the development contract for the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program. In particular, the Bell V-280 Valor tilt-rotor aircraft has been in development and testing for nearly a decade, and the Army's award is based on the V-280's ability to become its next-generation assault aircraft. With the combination of top operational capabilities, digital systems, and affordability, the V-280 marks the culmination of a huge effort from the Textron unit to win the award.
The award is the largest that the Army has made for helicopter procurement since the 1980s, with the goal of taking over the roles of roughly 3,200 Black Hawk and Apache helicopters by the end of the decade. Its initial value of $1.3 billion is already impressive, but the next-phase's value for engineering, manufacturing, and low-rate production rises to $7 billion. If the Army purchases V-280 aircraft throughout its projected operating lifespan, the total value of the program could jump to as much as $70 billion.
Analysts jumped in to praise Textron, expecting that the stock would get a boost from the contract win. With the gains, Textron stock is starting to approach all-time highs, marking a big departure from the performance of many stocks in 2022's bear market.
Vivint gets a buyout bid
Elsewhere, Vivint Smart Home shares soared 32% in early-morning trading. The maker of integrated home security, lighting, and monitoring services accepted a deal from a leading utility company that will broaden its consumer-focused approach toward growth.
NRG Energy (NRG 0.34%) and Vivint announced that they had agreed to an acquisition of the smart-home platform company for $2.8 billion. The all-cash deal will pay Vivint shareholders $12 per share for their stock, which is a healthy premium to the roughly $9 per share that Vivint stock fetched at the close on Monday.
NRG has been pursuing ways to provide essential services for homes and businesses beyond simple power production. With the Vivint purchase, NRG intends to be the leading provider of home solutions and hopes to generate considerable cross-selling activity as it builds out an end-to-end ecosystem for its customers.
For their part, NRG shareholders didn't seem as excited about the deal, as the utility-company's stock dropped 11% early Tuesday. Nevertheless, Vivint shareholders are in a good mood, and it'll be interesting to see how NRG integrates Vivint's products and technology into its business.
