While there was some concern before about when the crew handling Boeing’s (BA) Starliner might finally be permitted to return to Earth, we may be closer now than before to an actual answer. The knowledge proved little help for the aerospace company’s shares, though, which were down fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
Recently completed testing on a separate spare thruster suggests a cause may have been found. While there’s not much word on what the findings actually were, we do know that the tests replicated conditions in the thruster up until the Starliner docked with the International Space Station. Armed with this data, we may well hear before too much longer when the crew will be able to return home.
Plea Deal Troubles
Boeing’s legal issues have led to a lot of roadblocks and speed bumps in its business lately, and one particular point is still being ironed out. The latest settlement with the Justice Department is still being worked on, and some attorneys are suspecting that Boeing has influence and is using it to negotiate a better overall deal.
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 16.38% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $215.84 per share implies 20.8% upside potential.
