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Fly News Breaks for January 9, 2020
LDOS, MANT, PSN
Jan 9, 2020 | 07:48 EDT
Wells Fargo analyst Ed Caso noted that 2019 was "great" for government services' stocks' performance, putting their current valuations near historic highs. However, the funding outlook is strong, which gives solid market visibility through calendar 2021. Despite the presidential election cycle "noise," Caso believes in the case of a Trump win the group is likely to see little change and he believes a new president is unlikely to impact spending prior to government fiscal year 2022. Caso downgraded Leidos (LDOS) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $102 price target, noting that its shares were up 85% in 2019. He downgraded ManTech International (MANT) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $76 price target as he expects shares to lag peers given its lower EBITDA margin. He also downgraded Parsons (PSN) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $42 price target, noting that the "clarity and consistency" of its financial model is "still evolving," which he sees leading to relative underperformance.