While the Starliner might have been one of the greatest debacles in the history of aerospace stock Boeing (BA), it will not go gently into that good night. In fact, the Starliner is on track to make a comeback in 2026. That news hit shareholders like a bus and sent shares down nearly 3% in Friday afternoon’s trading.
NASA announced that it was getting ready to start certifying the CST-100, or Starliner, for crewed flights. The target launch date was sometime in 2026, though the reports suggested that such a flight could go up earlier if conditions warranted. The biggest issue on NASA and Boeing’s collective plate right now is the propulsion system, which led to the now-infamous incident in which an eight-day mission to the International Space Station turned into a nine-month debacle.
Throughout this spring, and into this summer, a range of propulsion system tests are lined up, and NASA is trying valiantly to get Boeing’s space system back into proper play so that it can go up and come down carrying people this time around. Meanwhile, the costs of the system are mounting, as they currently stand at over $2 billion.
The Successful Chinook Plant
And while Boeing has made a lot of headway with government contracts, there is one more little workhorse that is turning into a cash cow for Boeing: the Chinook helicopter. Reports noted that Boeing landed a contract worth $240 million to upgrade Special Operations Aviation Command helicopters, and that means the Chinook will be a part of the show for some time to come.
In fact, in a move that is making Pennsylvania happy, reports note that the Delco plant in Ridley Township will now have work on Chinook helicopters into 2030. Thanks to the latest contract, Boeing now has 51 Chinooks to upgrade under the MH-47G Block II program. Boeing looks to deliver those upgraded helicopters by 2030, on top of supplying Chinooks to American allies the world over.
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 14 Buys, five Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 8.01% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $197.11 per share implies 13.29% upside potential.
