It is a process that has been in the works for some time now, and aerospace stock Boeing (BA) has finally made the move to formally acquire Spirit AeroSystems (SPR). Spirit’s shareholders finally bowed to the inevitable, and agreed to the acquisition, which now should ultimately close around the middle of this year. The news was good enough for a fractional boost in Boeing’s shares in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The agreement between the two has been in the works since June of 2024, and took on a particular importance as Boeing looked for ways to improve its supply chain and plane building operations in the wake of several issues involving mechanical failures. Boeing will be acquiring the parts of Spirit related to Boeing’s work, while Spirit will still have the operations related to Airbus (EADSF), though there are signs Airbus wants to get its own hands on that part.
There will be some regulatory issues involved, though given the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that came in with the Trump administration, and the ongoing federal oversight process, these may be less of a problem than they would have been previously.
The Super Hornet: Dangerous for the Wrong Reasons
Meanwhile, a report from the San Antonio Business Journal suggests that the Boeing Super Hornet project may have been more dangerous than expected. The Journal turned to piles of “corrective action requests documents” that were brought in with the Freedom of Information Act, and discovered that there were “multiple deficiencies” found in the Super Hornet’s maintenance program.
As it turned out, Boeing maintenance contracts on the C-17 Globemaster, the F-15 Eagle, and the two upcoming Air Force One planes have similar corrective action documents connected with them, the Journal noted. At least one report called the issues involved “safety of flight” issues.
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 14 Buys, five Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 14.24% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $196.06 per share implies 10.89% upside potential.
