10 Best Defense Stocks to Buy in the S&P 500

3. RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 76

RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) is among the 10 Best Defense Stocks to Buy in the S&P 500. On January 14, RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) announced that its small satellite manufacturing subsidiary, Blue Canyon Technologies, had launched a satellite to support NASA’s Pandora mission.

The Saturn-200 minisatellite will conduct studies on exoplanets’ atmospheres and when they transit, especially when passing by their host stars. This is the 87th spacecraft deployed by Blue Canyon to-date.

In other news, RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) and Spain’s Indra Sistemas were chosen by the U.S. government earlier this month to provide new radars, as part of a $12.5 billion Congressional plan to overhaul the country’s aging air traffic control system.

Based on the ratings of 14 analysts, the stock is a Moderate Buy with a one-year average share price target of $198.92, representing a downside of 1.49% as of January 19.

Recent analyst updates include Susquehanna analyst Charles Minervino, on January 15, raising the firm’s price target on the stock to $230 from $205, while maintaining a Positive rating. This followed Citigroup’s adjustment earlier in the week on January 13, when it hiked the price target to $227 from $211 and kept a Buy rating.

RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) is a giant in the global aerospace and defense industry, providing systems and services to commercial, military, and government clients. It operates through three main businesses: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon.