"Built for Flat-Pack Deployment" Boeing Stock (NYSE:BA) Slips on the Ghost Bat
Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat, an unmanned combat aircraft, demonstrated rapid deployment capabilities in a recent test with the Royal Australian Air Force. Despite this, Boeing's stock (NYSE:BA) slipped slightly. Additionally, Boeing delivered its 100th KC-46A Pegasus tanker to the USAF, which now holds 75% of the global tanker fleet. Analysts maintain a Strong Buy rating on Boeing stock, with a 24.63% upside potential.
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat is one of the most exciting developments in military technology in quite some time. This unmanned combat aircraft is actually able to be packed up and then deployed elsewhere in a matter of hours, reports note. Despite this surprising versatility, Boeing investors took the news with an unexpected skepticism. Boeing shares slipped fractionally in Thursday afternoon's trading.
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Recently, Boeing—along with the Royal Australian Air Force—ran a project known as Exercise Carlsbad in which they tested out how quickly the Ghost Bat system could be set up, moved, and broken down. The aircraft was broken down, sent to a new location north of the current one, reassembled, and then checked for readiness. The results turned out great: all systems arrived in "…good working order," and flew as normal.
When asked, Boeing Defence Australia's executive director of business development, Garth Haselden, noted that the whole system as working "…in the hours time frame at this stage." When pressed, Haselden was noticeably canny about revealing numbers, until someone asked if it could be done in under six hours. Haselden responded simply, "Yes."
USAF Milestone
Meanwhile, Boeing hit a bit of a milestone with the United States Air Force, who just received its 100th KC-46A Pegasus air-to-air tanker system. The Air Force actually got two deliveries at the same time, marking both the arrival of the 99th and the 100th.
Perhaps even more exciting is that the USAF did not actually have a Pegasus tanker system until 2019. The first two KC-46A tankers arrived at McConnell Air Force Base back then, and the Air Force has been buying them up ever since. This also puts the Air Force in an interesting position, as it currently accounts for 75% of the world's tanker fleet.
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 13 Buys, two Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 29.28% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $249.07 per share implies 24.63% upside potential.
