Strong analyst predictions and fresh aircraft orders are proving critical for Boeing
Shares of aerospace giant Boeing popped by as much as 6% on Wednesday despite the firm’s space exploration arm facing a mounting threat from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
SpaceX, which already boasts a dominant market share in the spaceflight industry, gained further ground on its competitors on Tuesday when it successfully completed the return of two NASA astronauts who were stuck on the International Space Station for nine months.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams completed their outbound journey in June 2024 on a Boeing Starliner. However, due to numerous technical complications on the way to the space station, the capsule returned empty, with the pair remaining at the station for safety reasons.
NASA eventually transferred the expedition to SpaceX, and Wilmore and Williams returned in one of the firm’s Dragon capsules.
The saga has delivered a painful blow for Boeing’s Starliner project, which has already lost more than $2 billion.
SpaceX, on the other hand, has become one of the world’s most valuable start-ups, having earned a staggering $350 billion valuation in early 2025.
Boeing stock proving resilient
But investors appear not to be phased by the Starliner episode, with Boeing stock enjoying gains of up to 6% (around 9 points) on Wednesday.
The key catalyst for the surge was an order of 17 new 737-B aircraft from Japan Airlines, worth roughly $90 million each.
This comes after an initial order of 21 aircraft in March 2023. The total 38 Boeing planes are expected to be delivered in fiscal 2026.
Also promising for Boeing was research firm Aero Analysis Parterns’ prediction on Wednesday that the firm’s March deliveries would be higher than last month, and potentially match the 40 achieved in January. The analysts maintained their $185 price target for the stock.
Additionally, Boeing CFO Brian West said on Wednesday that the firm does not foresee any “material near-term impact” from the Trump administration’s tariffs on aluminum and steel.
With Boeing’s supply chain being predominantly U.S.-based, the firm expects Q1 results to be roughly in line with expectations.
