Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) shares rose back towards their recent all-time highs on Friday as brokers retained their 'buy' ratings on the shares, with the engine maker reporting a strong start to the year, and as investors see better prospects for its airline customers as China and US tensions seemed to de-escalate.
Deutsche Bank, which has a share price target of 860p versus the last close price of 767p, noticed that the first-quarter results showed progress across Commercial Aerospace, with flying hours for large engines accelerating.
The broker also highlighted continued momentum in order intake for Power Systems and confirmed that the group remains on track for a decision on its UK SMR nuclear proposals in June.
"A slowdown in international traffic remains a key risk to the downside," said Deutsche, "but there is no evidence of it at this stage."
Indeed, shares in airlines on both sides of the Atlantic rose on Friday after China’s signal that it is open to trade talks.
As for Rolls' results, analysts at Jefferies noted that engine flight hours were 10% above 2019 levels in the first quarter and said the outcome was stronger than it had expected.
On tariffs, with Rolls saying impacts would be offset through mitigating actions, Jefferies said the release went some way to "paving the way for a potential guidance upgrade with H1 results assuming no significant disruptions to the macroeconomic environment".
Rolls shares hit an all-time high of 818p in March, before diving below 640p on the back of Donald Trump's tariff announcements.