Hello,

Thanks for signing up for MarketBeat Daily Ratings—we’re excited to have you on board.

Every weekday, you’ll get a curated summary of new “Buy” and “Sell” ratings from Wall Street’s top-rated analysts, the latest stock news, and bonus investing content—all delivered straight to your inbox.

You’re just two quick steps away from completing your sign-up:

1. Make sure our emails go to your inbox

Gmail users:
Mobile: Tap the three dots (…) in the top right and select Move to Inbox or Move to Primary
Desktop: Click the folder icon at the top and select Move to Inbox or Primary

Apple Mail users:
Tap our email address at the top (next to From: on mobile), then select Add to VIP

Other providers:
Reply to this message and add [email protected] to your contacts

2. Confirm your subscription

Click this link to confirm your subscription. This verifies your account and ensures you receive your newsletters without interruption instead of getting stuck in your spam filter.

Confirm your subscription here.

After you confirm, feel free to download our popular free report, "7 Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever" with this link.

Thanks again for subscribing—we look forward to being part of your investing journey.

Matthew Paulson
Founder and CEO, MarketBeat.

P.S. If you didn’t mean to subscribe, no problem—you can unsubscribe here.

Defense Budget Expansion: 3 Mid-Cap Names in a Sweet Spot

Author: Chris Markoch. Publication Date: 4/20/2026.

In early April, the Trump administration proposed increasing defense spending to $1.5 trillion for 2027. This was the largest such request in decades and would mark a 44% increase for the Pentagon. At first glance, it would be easy to connect this request to the conflict with Iran. However, the administration had signaled its desire for a larger defense budget before those hostilities began.

The reason is both practical and strategic: the current military infrastructure is not well-suited for the nature of future warfare—or at least not as well-suited as it could be. Ready­ing for tomorrow’s threats will require more investment in next‑generation shipbuilding and in autonomous defense capabilities.

Available Now: Investigating Project Prophet (Ad)

Porter Stansberry flew the Porter and Co. team 3,300 miles to Dublin to investigate a 17-year investing experiment called Project Prophet - and documented everything on film.

Rooted in the laws of physics, this quantitative approach challenges conventional wealth-building wisdom. With 17 years of verified data behind it, Porter calls it unlike anything he has seen in nearly 30 years in the business.

Watch the full investigation and decide for yourself

This is a key reason why defense and aerospace stocks have led the market higher in 2026, including big names like Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC). At the same time, there’s growing opportunity in mid‑cap stocks that have less visibility than the major index names and are still being repriced.

Kratos Defense: A Pure Play on Autonomous Warfare Growth 

The push for unmanned autonomous technology in defense will require both offensive and defensive solutions. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) operates on both fronts.

On the defensive side, Kratos is one of the largest producers of counter‑unmanned aerial systems (C‑UAS). That market is projected to grow from roughly $6.64 billion in 2025 to about $20.31 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate near 25%. In March and April 2026, the company announced contracts totaling more than one‑third of its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) revenue of $1.35 billion.

On the offensive side, Kratos’ XQ‑58 Valkyrie has been adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps, which continues to procure additional Valkyries and could move Kratos closer to becoming a program of record for the Department of Defense.

KTOS is down about 40% from its year‑to‑date (YTD) high, with institutional selling outpacing buying. Still, analysts are projecting earnings growth near 38% and continue to raise price targets. That gives investors a more attractive entry point for a stock that is still up more than 100% over the past 12 months.

Leidos: Software and Cybersecurity Powering Modern Defense

The need for offensive and defensive capabilities applies to software as well as hardware. Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) represents the software side of the modern defense industry. The company focuses on modernizing U.S. government IT systems, cybersecurity, engineering, and professional services, with broad offerings in IT, analytics, and mission‑critical systems.

In 2025, Leidos was awarded a multi‑year contract with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. Investors felt the short‑term impact of that agreement in the company’s Q4 2025 earnings report.

Leidos missed revenue expectations largely because of a six‑week government shutdown in 2025. Looking ahead, management has pointed to the Golden Dome project as a potential catalyst in 2026 and beyond. The company also plans to triple capital expenditures to $350 million—an investment intended to expand production capacity and upgrade classified facilities.

LDOS is down about 20% from its YTD high amid concerns that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) could reshape the cybersecurity landscape. Analysts have trimmed price targets, but the consensus price target for LDOS is $208.27, more than 30% above the stock’s mid‑April price.

Huntington Ingalls: Shipbuilding Strength Meets Next‑Gen Tech

Huntington Ingalls (NYSE: HII) combines traditional shipbuilding expertise with next‑generation technologies. The company is closely tied to America’s Maritime Action Plan (MAP), a broad initiative to modernize and expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity.

Even before the MAP announcement, Huntington Ingalls was forecasting as much as $50 billion in new government contracts over the next 24 months. For context, the company generated just over $12 billion in revenue in 2025.

Huntington Ingalls is also growing its Mission Technologies segment—covering AI, cyber defense, and unmanned systems—which represented about a quarter of the company’s 2025 revenue and is expected to expand.

HII is the momentum pick among these names. The stock is up roughly 15% in 2026 and is trading slightly above its consensus price target of $383.22. Analysts are raising targets ahead of the company’s May 7 earnings report, suggesting additional upside as institutional interest remains strong.