One aerospace stock got hit by a SpaceX announcement. Two analysts say buy the dip
Howmet Aerospace tumbled nearly 8% Monday after SpaceX said it will move to make its own castings for industrial gas turbines. But investors should view the Howmet decline as a buying opportunity, according to two Wall Street banks. Citigroup reiterated a buy rating on Pittsburgh-based Howmet, opened “an upside 30-day Catalyst Watch” on the stock and repeated a $329 price target that implies 34% upside from Monday’s close. Bernstein also reiterated an outperform rating on Howmet with its own $328 price objective on the stock. “We see this as a unique and likely short-lived opportunity in shares,” Citi analyst John Godyn wrote late Monday in a report. “We believe the [SpaceX news] (1) reinforces the critical nature of HWM parts and (2) illustrates the exceptional demand HWM faces in [industrial gas turbines (IGT)] above/beyond its ~$2B revenue target.” Howmet shares reacted Monday to SpaceX telling The Information it plans to build its own blades and vanes for industrial gas turbines that are used to power data centers. As a result of Monday’s decline, Howmet is now down 13% over the past month. For all of 2026, however, Howmet is ahead 19.5%, outperforming the 12.3% gain in the S & P 500, and over the past year has soared 41% against the S & P’s 19%. HWM 1M mountain Howmet is down 13% in a month after Monday’s decline SpaceX won’t displace Howmet in the IGT-related castings market, where Howmet holds more than 50% of the market share for IGT blade castings and has long-term customer agreements, according to Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned. “We see little risk to Howmet from the SpaceX announcement; instead we see a positive Message,” Harned wrote Monday. “Howmet has established long-term agreements with every major IGT producer. The first of the new buildouts began to come online in [the second quarter]; at least six other capacity expansion efforts lie ahead … [and] the SpaceX decision to increase its capacity highlights the extent of upward pressure in this market.” Citigroup also noted that SpaceX will likely continue as a customer in the IGT supply chain, even if it follows through with plans to build IGT components. Citi and Bernstein’s recommendations match the consensus on Wall Street, where 20 of 24 analysts rate Howmet a buy or strong buy, LSEG data shows.
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