Aerospace stock Boeing (BA) took a few reversals as the fallout from its space program continues unabated. The news was unpleasant in several points, but despite this, investors were oddly welcoming. In fact, Boeing stock was up over 3% in Monday afternoon’s trading, possibly suggesting that shareholders would like Boeing to focus on planes again.
The first piece of news was that NASA may be cutting Boeing out of the loop altogether, a move that could potentially shut down a substantial operation for the company. As it turns out, reports note, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is currently costing NASA about $3 billion a year. And that assumes that it does not actually launch. If it does go up, reports note, so too do the costs.
And that makes it a prime target for government watchdog DOGE, while also potentially pouring a lot of new cash into other, and potentially better, space businesses. But Boeing is concerned nonetheless; it has already had meetings with staff about potential job cuts, and chief aerospace safety officer Mike Delaney is set to retire this year. A replacement will, apparently, be named in the next few weeks.
Unexpected Missile Crisis
And that was when, perhaps, the worst part of the whole mess emerged. A report noted that Boeing’s Starliner project—or rather the helium leak issues that kept it from launching and returning—may have just handed China a critical developmental breakthrough in its “stealth missile” program.
A report noted that the Chinese have developed a means to inject helium into standard rocket motors using “micron-scale pores.” With such tiny injections of helium, reports note, the missile involved can boost its thrust by 5.77%. That may not sound like much, but when you include the fact that the exhaust becomes super cold as a result, nearly reaching ambient temperature, it represents a significant improvement in stealth missiles. The resulting missiles are much, much harder to track.
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 13 Buys, five Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 8.85% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $196.88 per share implies 7.79% upside potential.
