Hexcel price target lowered to $70 from $82 at RBC Capital

RBC Capital lowered the firm’s price target on Hexcel (HXL) to $70 from $82 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares as part of a broader research note previewing Q1 results for the Aerospace & Defense industry. Investor sentiment on defense stocks is gradually increasing as confidence in growth in the FY26 top-line has offset some recent DOGE and legacy program risk concerns, and while the path to $1T in defense spending is not finalized, RBC expects the Congressional Republican leadership to strongly push for growth in top-line defense spending, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm adds however that the trade war escalation has offset the positive commercial aerospace OE – Original Equipment – sentiment from Airbus (EADSY) and Boeing (BA), noting that the recession risk is a greater headwind for aerospace OE stocks.