BigBear (BBAI) Climbs 16.7% as New Govt Policy Sparks Optimism for Defense Business

We recently published 10 Hot Stocks Investors Are Buying, 5 Break Fresh Records. BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI) is one of the best performers on Tuesday.

Shares of BigBear.ai jumped for a third straight day on Tuesday, adding 16.7 percent to close at $5.94 apiece as investors repositioned portfolios following the US government’s decision to revise export rules on military drones.

Just recently, the Secretary of State approved adjustments to US export controls that would allow an easier exportation of military drones previously bogged down by a Missile Technology Control Regime agreement.

Under the new policy, drones will now be classified as fighter jets, such as the F-16, rather than missile systems, enabling drone sales to countries like the United Arab Emirates and European countries that have struggled to acquire the US’s best unmanned aerial vehicles.

Investors placed bets on defense companies, including BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI)—which provides Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) analytics and decision intelligence across several industries, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) manufacturers—on expectations that it would indirectly benefit from the policy shift.

In 2021, it can be recalled that BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI) partnered with UAV Factory to develop AI/ML capabilities for the latter’s unmanned aerial systems for its commercial and defense markets.

While UAV Factory is originally based in Latvia, it was acquired by US-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, which specializes in Aerospace, Defense & Government Services, Power Generation, and Specialty Industrial markets.

While we acknowledge the potential of BBAI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.