Is there no stopping Worldwide Consolidated Airways Group (LSE: IAG) shares? It doesn’t appear like it.

The British Airways proprietor is up one other 8% within the final week. It’s up 22% over one month, 64% over three months and a large 145% over the yr.

It might be an airline inventory, but it surely’s behaving like an area rocket. No pilot would enable a passenger airplane to climb at this pace.

Which poses an issue for traders like me. Momentum shares all the time do. There’s a threat that I hop on board, simply as they stall. Then drop.

That is the primary FTSE 100 inventory I wish to purchase

This has occurred to me quite a bit recently. Even FTSE 100 defence producer BAE Methods, which I as soon as described as the last word no-brainer plunged days after I added it to my portfolio final March. I’m nonetheless down 10%. In immediately’s dreadfully warlike world, no one ought to lose cash on BAE. I’ve. On paper.

I’m nearly too ashamed to confess I purchased Nvidia shares for the primary time on Friday 17 January. On Monday 27 January it suffered the one largest inventory market loss in US historical past, falling $600bn as DeepSeek threw down its cut-price gauntlet. There’s no hope for me.

And I’m not going to share how I fluffed the Rolls-Royce development miracle.

Regardless of these dire omens, I nonetheless wish to purchase IAG immediately. I believe there’s loads of gasoline nonetheless within the tank. The IAG share price nonetheless seems to be good worth with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of simply 8.6 occasions.

Sure I do know that’s roughly double the P/E of three or 4 occasions it traded at a yr in the past. But it surely’s nonetheless roughly half the FTSE 100 common of 15 occasions. Which isn’t dangerous provided that it’s the very best flyer on the index over the previous yr.

I believe there’s extra development to return

The early fast development stage is over. I’ve missed that, I settle for it. Pandemic lockdown hell is now a fading reminiscence. Though it has left IAG with roughly €6bn of debt. That may take a couple of extra years to whittle away.

Airways are extremely delicate to financial circumstances. If a recession hits, demand for air journey might plummet, hurting revenues and profitability. We’re ready to see how Donald Trump’s mooted tariffs might hit enterprise development – and their transatlantic journey plans.

Gasoline price volatility is a continuing concern. Carbon taxes and emissions targets might drive up working prices. IAG faces a tricky balancing act between bettering service high quality, particularly at BA, whereas competing with finances carriers on price.

But I can’t argue with its momentum. Just one factor is holding me again, and no, it isn’t my expertise with BAE, Nvidia and Rolls-Royce. I simply haven’t obtained any money in my buying and selling account.

So I’ve a second choice to make. Which inventory to promote? With the FTSE 100 breaking new all-time highs, I don’t wish to ditch something. Though I’ve obtained my doubts about spirits large Diageo…