The blister formation Rolls Royce (LSE: RR) The share price recovery shows how a struggling company can grow dramatically when conditions are right.

The FTSE 100 Shares of aircraft engine makers have plummeted more than 80% amid a bribery scandal, Covid lockdowns and other nastiness. Investors who saw an opportunity two years ago have made a staggering 518% return.

Shares of latecomers have risen almost 150% in 12 months, but with Rolls-Royce shares now fully valued at 36.19 times earnings, the glory days appear to be over.

On August 6, JP Morgan raised its price target on Rolls-Royce to 535p. But with the shares trading at 496.8p, that’s just 7.7% growth from here.

FTSE 100 star

The recovery is definitely over, but that didn’t stop me from increasing my stake by 455p during the recent market dip. I’m up almost 10% since then, but that’s not all. I’m holding with a minimum 10-year view.

There are risks, of course. CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç has raised supply chain issues. The proposed fleet of mini-nuclear reactors is awaiting government approval. A US recession could hit flight hours. If Erginbilgiç misses the targets, the sell-off could be brutal. I’ll stick with what I have and look for growth opportunities elsewhere.

I wonder if I found one at the struggling James Bond car manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda (LSE:AML). I’ve been waiting for the FTSE 250 inventory into action for years. Instead, it only seems to go backwards. At speed.

Aston Martin’s share price has fallen by a whopping 95.83% in five years. Even Rolls-Royce hasn’t fallen that far. In one year, the share price has fallen by 55.85%. Talk about a burning platform.

Still, the board unveiled a fairly positive set of half-year results on July 24. While wholesale volumes fell 32% to 1,998 units, that was largely to be expected as the company moves into its Vantage luxury supercar and upgraded DBX707 models.

Aston Martin Lagonda is so risky

Average selling prices rose 29% to £274,000, driven by increased Specials sales and improved personalisation options. And although revenues fell 11% to £603m, the group still posted a profit of £233m, down 1% year-on-year.

The Board remains confident that full year targets will be met as volumes, profits and margins will increase with a strong recovery in the second half of the year.

I don’t know whether to be happy that Aston Martin successfully financed its first quarter, or disappointed that it had to do so. Again.

Net debt was £1.19bn at 30 June, right in line with the current market cap of £1.2bn. Ouch. The debt-to-equity ratio is high at 1.79. On the plus side, that’s down from 3.86 in June 2022. Let’s see what the chart says.

^{Created with TradingView}

The board must invest £2bn between 2023 and 2027 to stimulate growth and the transition to electrification (which it is currently in a bad way), with dividends still years away.

However, brokers are optimistic, setting an average price target for the next 12 months at 253.2p, up 69.9% from the current 150.6p. That sounds like something for me.

Former Rolls-Royce CEO Warren East had largely steadied the ship before Erginbilgiç took over. Aston Martin, on the other hand, remains decidedly bumpy. I’m still tempted to jump on board. I’d hate to miss out if it really gets off the ground. I won’t know if I’m brave enough until I hit the buy button.