Aircraft maker Boeing (NYSE:BA) has had a disastrous run for the last several months as a series of mechanical failures and embarrassing production issues have combined to produce crippling damage to Boeing’s reputation. However, it’s taken several steps toward fixing that, and it took its latest just minutes ago. It fired the head of its 737 Max program, though investors are skeptical that that will fix anything, sending shares down fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
Ed Clark, the former head of the 737 Max operation, will be leaving the company. His role will be assumed by Katie Ringgold, who serves as general manager of the 737 Max program and the Renton site. Clark didn’t go out on a bad note, however, as CEO Stan Deal declared that Clark left with “…my, and our, deepest gratitude for his many significant contributions over nearly 18 years of dedicated service to Boeing.” This, apparently, will be just the start, as Deal revealed “…several leadership changes” to be announced as Boeing tries to bounce back from a series of damaged planes.
And Speaking of Damaged Planes…
There was, in fact, another damaged plane for Boeing to try and live down. This time, it was United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) flight 354, which was en route from San Francisco to Boston. The flight made it about as far as Denver when passengers noted that chunks of the wing appeared to be falling off. The crew was subsequently alerted, as was the pilot, who performed the diversion to a different airport.
It’s currently unclear what caused chunks of the wing to fly off like that—some speculate a collision with birds was involved—but whatever caused it, it’s simply more bad news for Boeing, which has seen several reports of flight failures this year alone.
Is Boeing a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 17 Buys and six Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 1.53% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $262.67 per share implies 30% upside potential.
