When you can accurately use a phrase like “second whistleblower dies” to describe recent news for any company—and Boeing (NYSE:BA) is not exempt from this—you know something has truly gone pear-shaped in the world. And that’s just what happened, as another Boeing whistleblower passed away, and Boeing stock went up. Up just over 4%, in fact, at one point in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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This time, whistleblower Josh Dean passed away. Dean was a quality auditor with Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR), who pointed out a range of safety concerns in the operation, along with some much less flattering tidbits about potential misconduct going on in the company. But Dean ultimately contracted an infection, which turned severe and ultimately brought about his death.
Dean was previously in good health, so his sudden death from infection struck many by surprise. Yet, when he started having trouble breathing and ended up in the hospital, the next two weeks proved both “brutal” and “heartbreaking,” according to Dean’s aunt. They also, in the end, proved fatal.
A Potential New Competitor Shows Up
While it’s a safe bet to say that Boeing had nothing to do with Dean’s death, it’s still not a good look for Boeing that two different people with an axe to grind against the company suddenly died while investigations were taking place. It’s also not a good look that all this happened at the same time a potential new competitor showed up. Embraer (NYSE:ERJ), a Brazilian aircraft company, is looking to make a plane that would compete with the 737 MAX model.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about competition in the space, and it’s not a bad thing either; it’s hopefully the kind of thing that would make Boeing—and even Airbus (OTHEROTC:EADSY)—step things up in the field.
Is Boeing Stock a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 15 Buys, eight Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 11.22% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $223.78 per share implies 25.9% upside potential.
