Howmet Aerospace shares fell nearly 8% on Monday after SpaceX announced plans to produce its own castings for industrial gas turbines. However, analysts from Citigroup and Bernstein view this decline as a strategic buying opportunity for investors.
Citigroup reiterated a buy rating on Howmet, initiating a 30-day Catalyst Watch and maintaining a price target of $329, which implies a 34% upside from Monday’s close. Bernstein also confirmed an outperform rating with a price objective of $328.
“We see this as a unique and likely short-lived opportunity in shares,” said John Godyn, an analyst at Citi. “The SpaceX news reinforces the critical nature of Howmet’s components and illustrates the exceptional demand for industrial gas turbines (IGT) beyond the company’s approximately $2 billion revenue target.”
SpaceX intends to build its own blades and vanes for IGTs used to power data centers, as reported by The Information. This development contributed to Howmet’s 13% drop over the past month. Nonetheless, the stock is up 19.5% in 2026, outperforming the S&P 500’s 12.3% gain, and has risen 41% over the past year compared to the index’s 19% increase.
Douglas Harned, an analyst at Bernstein, emphasized that Howmet holds over 50% market share in IGT blade castings and has long-term agreements with every major IGT producer. “We see little risk to Howmet from the SpaceX announcement; instead, we see a positive message,” Harned noted. “The first new buildouts are coming online in the second quarter, with at least six other capacity expansions planned. SpaceX’s decision to increase its capacity highlights the extent of upward pressure in this market.”
Citigroup added that SpaceX is likely to remain a customer in the IGT supply chain, even if it proceeds with in-house component production. The analyst recommendations align with the Wall Street consensus, where 20 of 24 analysts rate Howmet as a buy or strong buy, according to LSEG data.
