The recent string of deeply embarrassing and potentially fatal manufacturing troubles at aircraft maker Boeing (NYSE:BA) continues in earnest today, and Boeing shares are slipping as a result. The first blow came from the executive chairman of Air Lease Corp (NYSE:AL), Steven Udvar-Hazy, who gave a grim pronouncement to Boeing’s entire production line. If there are any more production issues, then the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will likely step in and halt production altogether.
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While Udvar-Hazy doesn’t look for that to happen—he noted that the issues were mostly contained to one plant in Renton—the possibility remained. In fact, the FAA has already stepped in once, declaring a limit to 737 production at its current volume.
Alaska Airlines Plane Left Factory without Critical Bolts
In a further blow to Boeing, there’s another report around the Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) flight that had a door plug break off in mid-flight. Reports suggest that the plane in question left the Boeing factory without critical bolts. The reports note that markings that should have been on the door plug were missing, and the missing markings suggest that key bolts were never put in place. Further, there were “lapses in the paperwork” as well as in key procedures around the work Boeing did on the door plug. That’s exactly the last thing you want to hear, especially about an object that will take you several thousand feet into the air.
Is Boeing a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
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 2.23% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $270.58 per share implies 31.75% upside potential.
