On Sept. 29, the Department of War announced that the U.S. Navy awarded Boeing BA a contract to develop the sixth-generation F/A-XX Strike Fighter under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. According to the department’s press release, the contract exceeds $20 billion and covers the full-scale development of the fighter.
The announcement gave BA shares a boost, providing some relief after a challenging year. The stock is down about 14.3% year to date and 17.9% over the past three months. However, shares have gained around 0.8% since Monday and were up approximately 0.5% in premarket trading on October 1.
Boeing secured the $20 billion contract after beating Northrop Grumman NOC. The contract gave BA its second major fighter-jet victory in a row. As quoted on Reuters, the program could eventually be worth hundreds of billions of dollars over its lifetime as production scales up and international demand potentially grows.
Additionally, Boeing has secured a $2.38 billion contract from the U.S. Department of War for 22 additional F-15EX aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. The latest award brings the total number of F-15EX aircraft under contract to 120, as per the company’s press release.
Commercial Orders Add to the Momentum
Boeing’s momentum extends beyond its defense business, with major commercial airline orders adding to its growing order pipeline. According to Boeing’s press release, Turkish Airlines finalized an order for up to 150 737 MAX jets following discussions that began in 2025.
Korean Air also finalized a record order for 103 Boeing airplanes, completing its procurement commitment announced in August 2025, per Boeing’s press release.
Could New Aircraft Certification Speed Up?
On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he wants to accelerate the certification of new airplanes developed by Boeing and other manufacturers, citing growing competition from China, as quoted on another Reuters article.
Faster certification could provide a potential boost to manufacturers like Boeing by helping them bring new aircraft to market sooner.
Boeing’s Stock Outlook
Boeing currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.33 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations made by 27 brokerage firms. The current ABR compares to an ABR of 1.56 a month ago based on 27 recommendations.
Of the 27 recommendations deriving the current ABR, 21 are Strong Buy and three are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy, respectively, account for 77.78% and 11.11% of all recommendations. A month ago, Strong Buy made up 70.37%, while Buy represented 11.11%, indicating that the majority of the analysts remain bullish.
Based on short-term price targets offered by 25 analysts, the average price target for Boeing comes to $275.32, ranging from a low of $248.00 to a high of $305.00. The average price target represents an increase of 47.98% from the last closing price of $186.05 (as of market close on Sept. 30).
ETFs With Exposure to Boeing
Below, we have highlighted a few funds with exposure to BA.
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF ITA
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF has an exposure of 7.48% to Boeing. The fund charges an annual fee of 0.37%. ITA has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy).
First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF MISL
First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF has an exposure of 7.16% to Boeing. The fund charges an annual fee of 0.60%. ITA has a Zacks ETF Rank #2.
Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF NATO
Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF has an exposure of 7.15% to Boeing. The fund charges an annual fee of 0.35%. ITA has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold).
Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF PPA
Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF has an exposure of 8.75% to Boeing. The fund charges an annual fee of 0.58%. ITA has a Zacks ETF Rank #3.
Pacer Solactive Whitney Future of Warfare ETF FOWF
Pacer Solactive Whitney Future of Warfare ETF has an exposure of 6.54% to Boeing. The fund charges an annual fee of 0.49%.
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The Boeing Company (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA): ETF Research Reports
Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA): ETF Research Reports
First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (MISL): ETF Research Reports
Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF (NATO): ETF Research Reports
Pacer Solactive Whitney Future of Warfare ETF (FOWF): ETF Research Reports
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).