Force Protection's Wild Ride

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Force Protection (FRPT Quote) is on a roll lately.

Shares have risen almost 50% over the last month as the Ladson, S.C., manufacturer vies for lucrative orders under the government's armored vehicle contract. But given the competition from deep-pocketed rivals such as Navistar (NAVZ Quote) and British-based BAE Systems, even Force Protection fans have been bracing for a wild ride.

"Based on the fluidity of the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle program, we continue to believe that FRPT will be one of the most volatile stocks in the defense industry over the next several quarters," Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Patrick McCarthy cautioned earlier this month in raising his rating to outperform from market perform. "We expect the news flow to be significantly positive in the near-term, however." ...