Major contract awards prompted two investment firms Friday to upgrade Northrop Grumman Corp., sending shares of the Los Angeles defense contractor upward.

Analysts at Cowen & Co. and JPMorgan Securities Inc. raised ratings on Northrop’s stock given two multi-billion dollar contract awards and a first quarter earnings report first-quarter profit Thursday that beat analysts’ estimates.

Northrop was awarded a $3.7 billion contract to make drones for the Navy earlier this week. That follows the February award of a $35 billion contract to replace the Air Force’s aerial refueling tankers.

The upgrade by Cowen analyst Cai Von Rumohr and JP Morgan’s Joseph Nadol comes even after Northrop reported that its profit fell 32 percent due to costs associated with troubled wiring on one of its ships. However, the profit still exceeded estimates, and Nadol said Northrop’s sales growth in the near future looks “intriguing.”

Shares in Northrop were up 43 cents to $72.98 in early trading Friday.