What, I wonder rhetorically, is the opposite of “living a charmed life?” Because that seems to be where aerospace stock Boeing (BA) is right now. New reports of mechanical failures have emerged, and it was about the last thing that investors wanted to hear. Indeed, shares nosedived over 4% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
One of the latest issues for Boeing came from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is now requiring inspections for the 787 Dreamliner after an incident back in March. Said Dreamliner went into what Reuters called “…a sudden mid-air dive,” and as a result, 50 passengers on the flight in question were injured.
What prompted the dive might be even worse: it was brought about by “…the uncommanded movement of the captain’s seat,” which cut off the auto-pilot systems. And this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened either; five different reports of similar effects took place, with the most recent arriving in June. Now, the FAA is calling for inspections, and likely leaving many wondering what other problems could be uncovered next from Boeing.
The 777s Are Not Looking Much Better
That, meanwhile, leads us to news about the 777X test fleet. And, again, that news is not good either. Boeing has grounded the entire test fleet thanks to a “…failure of (the) key engine mounting structure.” And it was pretty much a catastrophic failure; in one case, the structure was severed altogether, while “issues” were found in two others.
Thankfully, the 777X is an aircraft still in its testing phases. But this does Boeing absolutely no favors; the 777X was supposed to be the “…world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet.” But if chunks of it are falling off, that will go nowhere toward restoring consumer trust in actually riding inside the things.
Is Boeing a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 15 Buys, five Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 24.28% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $217.47 per share implies 26.22% upside potential.
