Airbus Group SE delivered 57 commercial aircraft in September, the highest monthly number so far this year, while no new orders were booked during the period as the aviation crisis tied to the coronavirus pandemic throttled demand for new aircraft sales.
Airbus (EADSF) said that it delivered 57 jets last month down from 71 aircraft over the same period in 2019 and compared with 39 in August and 49 in July. On a year-to-date basis, the European planemaker delivered a total of 341 aircraft, which reflects a decline of around 40% compared to the same period in 2019.
By aircraft type, Airbus this year delivered a total of 18 A220s, 282 A320 Family, 9 A330s and 32 A350s.
In the first three quarters of 2020, Airbus booked a total of 300 net commercial aircraft orders, which includes 70 cancellations and compared with 127 net orders in the equivalent 2019 period.
Airbus’ backlog of aircraft remaining to be delivered stands at 7,441 jets compared to 7,133 at the same point in time last year.
Airline travel has fallen off a cliff due to lockdown restrictions forcing many airlines around the world to ground the majority of their fleets and to sharply reduce spending. This has resulted in a deep cut in the number of commercial jets planemakers’ customers need over the next few years with some asking for delivery delays or order cancellations.
Shares in Airbus have shed more than 45% of their value this year and were trading up 0.5% at $79.44 on Friday.
Looking ahead, it looks like Wall Street analysts expect some recovery in the shares over the coming year, with the average price target set at $89.20, which reflects about 12% upside potential.
Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Humphrey last month downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy with a $86.37 price target, as he is more pessimistic on near-term deliveries and believes that deliveries in 2021 could be a negative catalyst for the company’s shares.
In the long-term though he views Airbus as a long-term winner in a growth industry.
Overall, Wall Street analysts have a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. Out of 14 recent analyst reviews, 7 have Buy ratings, 4 have Hold ratings and 3 have Sell ratings which add up to a Moderate Buy consensus. (See Airbus stock analysis on TipRanks).
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