“They Told Us It Wasn’t Possible” Boeing Stock (NYSE:BA) Jumps as it Brings AI to Space-Grade Hardware

Perhaps the most exciting part about the word “impossible” is that, in many cases, it comes with the unspoken caveat, “yet.” Aerospace stock Boeing (BA) recently discovered as much with its plan to bring a new large language model (LLM) for hardware meant for use in space. Investors liked what they heard hear, and sent Boeing stock up nearly 2% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.

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The idea of artificial intelligence tools in space has some conceptual backing. Boeing engineers recently found that an LLM running on standard retail hardware could not only examine telemetry, but use that data to report on the overall health of a satellite in orbit. It could even do so using conventional natural language. Normally, satellites send their telemetry to the ground to be analyzed. But more companies are looking to build edge devices that handle that job, one that Boeing is likely to make easier with this development.

Boeing Space Mission Systems AI Lab director Arvel Chappell III noted, “They told us it wasn’t possible, but we are skilled engineers who were going to figure out a pathway to make it happen.” And figure it out is just what they seemed to pull off. Space-qualified devices are not always suited for high-power operations like running an LLM, so Boeing engineers managed to simplify an LLM to run on the hardware provided.

Not Talking

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hit Boeing with yet another aircraft-related problem. Boeing tried to get the Supreme Court to shut down a lawsuit being staged by the Southwest Airlines (LUV) pilot’s union. But the Supreme Court declined hearing the case, which left a Texas state court ruling in place that allowed the case to go to trial. Boeing, for its part, asserted that the case should have come under federal law.

The pilots in question asserted that Boeing “…made misrepresentations and fraudulently induced pilots to fly the aircraft without proper training.” Boeing, meanwhile, cited the Railway Labor Act from 1926, saying that that law should have overridden state-level claims. The Supreme Court apparently disagreed.

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 29.26% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $278.17 per share implies 18.79% upside potential.

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