Boeing's Rollercoaster Week: Wins and Risks Ahead for BA
Boeing (BA) has had a mixed week for investors, with major wins and lingering risks that have left sentiment uncertain. A potentially crippling engineers' strike was narrowly avoided when SPEEA approved a sweetened contract, allowing delayed aircraft certification programs to proceed as planned. This included the 777X program, which will benefit from the deal.
On the defense side, Boeing received two significant orders: $85 million for four MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters and over $20 billion for its sixth-generation F/A-XX fighter. The U.S. Air Force also awarded Boeing a contract to build its F-47 program. In commercial aviation, Ethiopian Airlines signed a deal worth $5 billion for 10 freighters with options for eight more.
Boeing's space business received a boost as NASA scheduled an uncrewed Starliner flight to the ISS by December. However, this news was tempered by software glitches and production issues on the 737 MAX, which continue to affect the company's stock price. Despite these challenges, analysts maintain a Strong Buy rating with average price targets near $272 per share, implying upside of roughly 41%-46%.
President Donald Trump's endorsement of the 737 MAX on Truth Social may have given Boeing a short-term boost, but professional investors are likely to view it as sentiment rather than fundamentals. The company remains under pressure from production issues and software glitches, which will need to be addressed for its stock price to recover.