One of the ongoing reminders of how bad 2024 was for aerospace stock Boeing (BA) is the totally-not-stranded pair of astronauts still left on the International Space Station until they can be brought home by a SpaceX flight sometime this spring, hopefully. Said astronauts–at least, one of them–got a little outdoor time recently, a move which left investors flat and shares down fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s session.
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Word from Flying noted that Suni Williams—one of the two astronauts in question—left the International Space Station to go on a spacewalk. She, along with astronaut Nick Hague, went outside for six hours to “perform maintenance” on some of the station’s systems. This is actually the first time that Williams has left the station since her arrival therein.
Among other things, Williams help replace the rate gyro assembly, a tool that keeps the station upright as it moves around the Earth, as well as repairing some light filters on the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope. The duo also replaced a docking reflector, which will be helpful when SpaceX shows up to take her and Barry “Butch” Wilmore home in a few weeks, unless something else goes wrong.
Sir No Longer Appearing in this Production Hanger
A separate report from Aviation A2Z, meanwhile, noted the end of an era for Boeing, as it will no longer produce the 777-300ER, an aircraft that has been part of Boeing’s lineup since 2004. The last time we heard about the 777-300ER, it was set to be shut down after the last one—which had briefly spent some time in the desert—made its final run.
But the new reports suggest that the 777 line is now focusing exclusively on the 777X, which is described by the report as “…a definitive shift in the company’s production strategy.” It was also regarded as a major force in long-haul operations, which gave airlines a range of 7,370 nautical miles.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 15 Buys, five Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 17.52% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $196.21 per share implies 12.38% upside potential.
