Lockheed Surges on Boeing Tip

Lockheed Corp. stock surged today after Business Week reported rival aerospace giant Boeing Co. may try to buy the company.

The “Inside Wall Street” stock-tipping column in March 13 editions of the business news weekly, published late Thursday and available on newsstands next week, quoted unidentified sources as saying Boeing is keenly interested in Lockheed’s enormous defense contracting business.

In early New York Stock Exchange trading, Lockheed rose $1.50 a share to $49.25 in active trading.

The column quoted an unidentified money manager as saying Boeing can easily afford to buy Lockheed because it has $4.2 billion in cash with little debt. The column also said Boeing’s own military sales aren’t expected to grow this year, whereas Lockheed’s have grown 30% annually since 1982.

Both companies declined to comment on takeover speculation.