spacetoday.net: Shuttle disaster affects aerospace stocks

Posted: Mon, Feb 3, 2003, 9:16 PM ET (0216 GMT)
The possible short- and long-term effects of the loss of the space shuttle Columbia hurt the stocks of several aerospace companies involved with the shuttle on Monday. Hardest-hit of the companies was Alliant Techsystems (ATK), which fell $6.34/share, or 11.7 percent, during trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. The company, which builds solid rocket boosters used for shuttle launches, was hurt by a report by investment firm Credit Suisse First Boston that downgraded the stock from "outperform" to "neutral" because of concerns about consequences of the shuttle accident. Moog Aerospace fell $1/share, or 3.1 percent, after the company warned that about $2 million in revenue was at risk if the shuttle was grounded for an extended period. The two largest aerospace companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, also fell slightly in trading; the two jointly own United Space Alliance, the company that operates the shuttle for NASA.