Trump Helps Knock Lockheed Martin Down A Few Bucks

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT fell nearly 2 percent during Thursday's after-hours trading session after another president-elect tweet.

Trump tweeted Thursday that the "tremendous cost and cost overruns" of Lockheed Martin's fighter jet program prompted him and his administration to shop around for a rival.

Trump added in his tweet he asked Boeing Co BA to price out a comparable fighter jet to Lockheed Martin's F-18 Super Hornet.

Trump recently targeted Boeing in a tweet on December 6 and blasted the company for the rising costs associated with the manufacturing and development of the next generation of Air Force One. In return, Boeing's CEO Dennis Muilenburg pledged to reduce the cost of the presidential jet.

"We're going to get it done for less than that, and we're committed to working together to make sure that happens," Muilenburg said.

Trump could be leveraging his now cozier relationship with Boeing and its executive team to develop a cheaper alternative to Lockheed Martin's jet. This theory holds some validity considering that Trump previously targeted Lockheed Martin in a tweet back in early December.

Trump tweeted on December 12 that Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet program's cost is "out of control" and that he plans on saving the taxpayers billions of dollars in military and non-military purchases on January 20.

Image Credit: By DonkeyHotey (Donald Trump - Caricature) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons