FTAI Aviation initiative creates compounding new opportunity, says Jefferies

After FTAI Aviation (FTAI) announced the launch of a strategic capital initiative in collaboration with third-party institutional investors, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu says the partnership could scale into a large mid-life lessor with traditional 3-6 year lease structures. This is incremental to the existing FTAI business given it taps into existing on-lease aircraft that are contracted to traditional overhauls and moves FTAI downstream into midlife engines versus a historical end-of-life bias, adds the analyst, who sees this as an incremental market opportunity of $150M-plus per year and compounding. Jefferies has a Buy rating and $188 price target on FTAI shares.