The final numbers for aerospace companies Airbus (EADSY) and Boeing (BA) at the Farnborough International Airshow have come out, and the news actually turned out nicely for Boeing. However, investors weren’t so pleased about the whole situation, and sent Boeing shares slumping just over 2.5% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
Airbus saw an impressive number of orders, with a total of 69 orders. The problem for Airbus, though, is that Boeing saw significantly more, with a total of 118 orders. That includes an order we learned about yesterday from Qatar Airways for 20 of the new 777X aircraft.
Even more noteworthy is the fact that the 777X hasn’t been Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified just yet, but Qatar Airways bought in regardless. Apparently, they’re sufficiently confident the certification will go through that they already put down the order. Given that Boeing already has some that are mostly ready, that could mean quick turnaround times for its first few customers.
No More Fixed-Price Contracts
Boeing has been having some labor troubles recently, with the union already preparing a strike following a successful authorization vote should talks not go according to plan. Now, it may have another problem brewing as it plans to avoid fixed-price contracts for drone wingmen. While Boeing intends to continue bidding on such contracts, it won’t agree to any fixed-price contract. Boeing’s Defense, Space, and Security president called such a plan “…a recipe for failure,” pointing out that its work here is particularly difficult, and it looks to price accordingly.
Is Boeing Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 16 Buys, five Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 14.97% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $215.84 per share implies 18.8% upside potential.
