It has been a long, and often terrible, year for aerospace stock Boeing (BA). With accident after accident…after accident…followed by strikes and mass layoffs, it would be easy to wonder what would happen next. USA Today took a look at just what that might have been, and discovered that reports of Elon Musk buying Boeing were completely “fabricated.” Boeing shares turned up fractionally on the news the company was not about to be bought out after all.
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Back on December 19, a Facebook post emerged suggesting that Boeing had indeed sold out to Musk, as evidenced by an article along with a picture of Musk holding up a signed document that had the Boeing logo on it. The picture was taken in front of a Boeing aircraft, also with its logo on it, and over the course of 10 days, was shared over 300 times.
But after USA Today looked into the matter, they discovered that the picture in question was an AI-generated phony—a point assured by expert testimony—which could be more readily told from “distortions” found in the faces and hands of the pictures. Further, the meat of the article was largely tainted as well. There were no announcements from any side on this, neither were any regulatory filings made with the government.
South Korea Launches Investigation
Meanwhile, in a sadly familiar vein for Boeing, South Korea is set to inspect the aircraft that crashed at the Muan airport, along with all other 737-800 models in particular. This by itself is proving unexpected, according to consultant Alan Price, who noted that the 737-800 is a “proven aircraft” that is completely different from the 737 Max that suffered several major crashes in recent years.
Further, some are wondering how much responsibility the airport itself bears in this, as the “airport localizer”—a concrete fence containing antennas to guide aircraft during landings—was located oddly and was made of unusually resistant materials that would not break easily in an impact. With the South Korean government also in turmoil right now following two separate impeachments, some—according to an Associated Press report—wonder just how well the government can investigate to begin with.
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 14 Buys, seven Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 29.81% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $193.16 per share implies 9.81% upside potential.
