Amazingly, aerospace stock Boeing (BA) drew another win with analysts recently, as a report from Forbes spelled out the surprise victory. Another analyst came out in favor of Boeing, and this was sufficient impetus to send shares up, albeit fractionally, in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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The analyst in question, Hightower Advisors’ Stephanie Link: Boeing may have lost 34% in last year’s trading, but that was not likely to be repeated in 2025. In fact, Link went so far as to say “my number one pick in every sector is Boeing.” Link looked for big things out of Boeing in 2025, including a “surprise to the upside” that featured 400 MAXes delivered. Given that, at last report, Boeing’s federally-mandated cap was 38 MAXes a month, 400 in a year is doable, with even a little wiggle room thrown in.
Link also looked for “cash flow (to) go from flat to five or six.” Since Boeing “trades on free cash flow,” that should help drive returns and led Link to the conclusion that “…I want to own Boeing.” Further, that cap noted previously? Link looks for that to come off sometime this year. That is not out of line; Boeing has already made a lot of advances in its cultural shift, and with the now-days-away changes at the Federal Aviation Administration, “good enough” may be a couple months away.
The Golden Age of Defense
Meanwhile, another Forbes report offered a vital piece of news: the Aerospace and Defense industry in the United States is looking at a “golden era.” While 2024 was, mostly, sour for Boeing, it was also what Aviation Week executive editor Michael Bruno called “…the necessary speed bump that the industry was avoiding overcoming.”
The report went on to say much the same things that Link said previously. Improving macroeconomic conditions, improving supply chain issues, and “high expectations of the U.S economy as we enter 2025” are all on tap to produce that “golden era” that Forbes looked for. It certainly does not hurt that a new president is coming in with a particular focus on American jobs and manufacturing.
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 15 Buys, six Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 23.56% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $195.26 per share implies 13% upside potential.
