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Boeing (NYSE:BA) Discovers Treasure Trove of 737 Fuselages
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Boeing (NYSE:BA) Discovers Treasure Trove of 737 Fuselages

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Boeing discovers that Spirit AeroSystems has a range of 737 fuselages ready to go, and its satellite communications test went well as well.

Today brought a comparative rarity with it: good news for aerospace stock Boeing (BA). Sufficiently good news, in fact, to send shares up nearly 3% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading. But what kind of news could have sparked that kind of interest? It is all about the recent acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems (SPR), and what was waiting for Boeing therein.

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As it turns out, reports noted, Spirit AeroSystems has a “substantial inventory” of 737 fuselages that are immediately ready to ship. Given that one of Boeing’s big goals for the year is to get its production numbers back up, having a ready-made inventory of the key part in said production will likely only speed things up and get Boeing’s numbers back up in rapid fashion.

In fact, Spirit AeroSystems has also been working on improving its production, and has gone from 21 fuselages a month to 31 fuselages a month. That is still behind the 38 a month Boeing will likely need, but with a lead like it currently has, it should have plenty of time to more gradually ratchet up the numbers. Further, just last month, Boeing revealed that it already had $87.5 billion worth of inventory on hand, which would allow it to make 38 jets a month as things stood. With Spirit only slightly behind the key rate, the excess inventory should let it keep pace nicely.

Boeing Reaches Out and Touches Someone

Better still, Boeing is working on branching out into satellite communications as well. In fact, reports note, Boeing recently got together with ThinKom to stage a demonstration of “high-speed satellite communications for military aircraft.” The report noted that a combination of ThinKom antennas and Boeing modems, when used with the Viasat satellite network, demonstrated solid results.

The ThinKom / Boeing combination allowed for high-speed file transfers, the use of streaming video, and even an ability to maintain connection in adverse conditions producing “link disruptions.” This should make for an exciting new draw to Boeing’s military lineup, especially given the growing importance of communications in military applications.

Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 13 Buys, five Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 13.29% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $195.82 per share implies 8.3% upside potential.

See more BA analyst ratings

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