Aerospace stock Boeing (BA) recently made a big move that investors loved to see. It recently delivered a third satellite to ViaSat (VSAT), bringing it to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This move, along with the boost in connectivity it will represent, was welcomed, as investors sent Boeing shares blasting up over 4% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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The ViaSat-3 Flight 3 satellite, also known as the VS-3 F3, is built around Boeing’s 702MP+ platform. This satellite will give ViaSat the ability to improve satellite internet offerings in the Asia-Pacific region. The satellite will go into space on the back of a SpaceX launch, after the satellite receives “…pre-launch processing and mission preparations….”
ViaSat’s vice president for space systems Dave Abrahamian noted, “The delivery of ViaSat-3 F3 marks an important milestone for the program and for the customers who will rely on it for resilient, secure, flexible and high-performance connectivity across the APAC region. Throughout the ViaSat-3 program, Boeing’s platform performance and mission operations have been essential to achieving these goals for our business and our customers.”
The South Carolina Expansion
Meanwhile, Boeing recently put a pile of cash into expanding its operations in South Carolina. The result therein is starting to show its value as a second 787 assembly line is getting ready to launch. Boeing started this project up last fall, and structural steel is now in place. The project still has some ways to go, of course, but with the International Boulevard expansion set to cost $1 billion, it will ultimately allow Boeing to ramp up 787 Dreamliner production.
Boeing launched this project as a way to meet what CEO Kelly Ortberg called “exceptional market demand” for the 787. Given the backlog of demand for the 737 MAX, though—not to mention the production caps still on that line—it is easy to wonder if perhaps expansion should have focused there first.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 14 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 30.58% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $274.92 per share implies 25.93% upside potential.
