Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) troubles only seem to get worse, but investors are willing to stick by the aircraft maker. The latest news isn’t doing it any favors, with more whistleblower troubles and signs that Boeing’s customer base is getting annoyed. But despite all this, Boeing shares were up fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
The latest word came from Santiago Paredes, the latest of Boeing’s whistleblowers who served as a quality control inspector. Nicknamed “Showstopper” for his tendency to actually report problems, Paredes revealed that he was subject to pressure on the job to “falsify information” when it came to finding and reporting defects in 737 fuselages. Paredes also noted that it really didn’t come as a surprise to him when the Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) incident took place and a door plug shot out of a jet at 16,000 feet.
Customers Getting Tense
Boeing’s production problems haven’t exactly been helpful for its customer base, either. While many of those customers are convinced that Boeing will turn things around eventually, it’s clear that the short term is proving extremely rocky. For instance, Lufthansa reported that the production cuts were “….extremely annoying” and “…cost(s) us a great deal of money.”
Meanwhile, Shiekh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, CEO of Emirates Airlines, demanded that Boeing “…get your act together” in light of the production slowdowns. Both, however, expressed their belief that Boeing can make the necessary changes and get back on track.
Is Boeing Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 15 Buys, eight Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 11.44% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $222.48 per share implies 24.22% upside potential.
