Boeing Stock (NYSE:BA) Sinks as It May Be in on NATO Rotorcraft Project

“NATO rotorcraft project” may not sound like the kind of thing that catches imaginations, but it should. Perhaps it would hit a little harder if I called it by another name: vertibird. It turns out that aerospace stock Boeing BA -2.32% ▼ may be about to step back into the bidding process on a new NATO rotorcraft project that looks just like the aircraft from the Fallout series. This did surprisingly little for investors, though, as shares slumped nearly 2% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.

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Six different NATO members are getting together in a bid to develop what amounts to a vertibird, a next-generation military helicopter with tilting rotors mounted on the end of wings extending from the main fuselage. About 90% of the program’s requirements are in place, and a request for proposal (RFP) drive should start up this summer. And there are signs that Boeing plans to throw its hat in the ring.

Boeing, along with three other aircraft makers, have already been pre-qualified based on the outcomes of selection questionnaires submitted back in 2025. Those four will get access to the RFP system, and from there, will decide if they mean to go to the bidding stage. Early reports say that the new system will be able to “…deploy off the back of a carrier or frigate,” and be able to carry between 12 and 16 troops with full equipment.

A Special Light Show

Meanwhile, out in Crystal City, Boeing is looking to dress up some of its real estate with a special LED light show. It wants to put the lighting on the headquarters building in that city, which will display red, white and blue for the America 250 celebration this year. But Boeing does not plan to take the display down after the celebration; instead, it will stay up to present “…a distinguished and cohesive appearance that reflects the prominence of Boeing’s headquarters.”

Since the display is to be mounted on a skyscraper, it requires some coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to actually be put in place. The display will show at a brightness between 560 and 1,110 lumens, and will be kept on from dusk to midnight daily.

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 and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 44.58% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $278.17 per share implies 24.26% upside potential.

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