Howmet Aerospace stock rallies after Benchmark upgrades, as long Ukraine war could boost titanium business

Shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. rose 1.7% in premarket trading Friday, after Benchmark analyst Josh Sullivan turned bullish on the aerospace and titanium company, citing a supply chain recovery and market share gains as companies divest their titanium operations in Russia. Sullivan raised his rating to buy, after being at neutral for at least the pat two years. Sullivan set his stock price target at $40 stock price, which implies about 23% upside to Thursday’s closing price of $32.55. Sullivan said with global air passenger demand remaining “robust” and international travel just starting to recover, demand for Howmet’s aircraft manufacturing products should provide a longer-term boost. And as the Russia-Ukraine war drags on, leading aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to move away from Russia-based titanium producer VSMPO-AVISMA, Sullivan believes Howmet can benefit over time as Howmet is capable of producing approximately 80% of VSMPO’s products. Howmet shares have gained 2.3% year to date through Thursday, while the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF has lost 3.4% and the S&P 500 has dropped 18.1%.

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