Ahead Of The Bell: Alliant Techsystems

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The relatively lackluster performance of Alliant Techsystems Inc. belies the military contractor's potential and reflects investors' anxiety about NASA's plans for the Ares rocket program on which Alliant works, an analyst said Monday.

Analyst Howard A. Rubel of Jefferies & Co. maintained a "Buy" rating for the Minneapolis, Minn., company's shares.

Alliant is pursuing "attractive opportunities in space exploration, precision munitions and composite materials that may provide for meaningful additions to growth," he said in a note to clients.

Shares have "significantly underperformed" the market and other defense contractors in recent months, primarily due to concerns over the future of Alliant's NASA business, Rubel said.

NASA spending accounts for about 20 percent of Alliant's revenue, he said.

"We believe these concerns are overstated and distract from the overall attractiveness of the broader enterprise," Rubel said.

Shares of Alliant have risen nearly 27 percent since the market's low point in March, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased about 58 percent.