Crises, Product Issues Send Boeing (NYSE:BA) to Number Two

While aerospace stock Boeing (BA) has been fighting for months to pull itself back from the brink, facing down labor struggles, a product line that periodically fell apart in flight, and legal nightmares of nearly every stripe, a more disturbing issue slipped quietly in: Boeing fell to second in the market behind its long-time rival Airbus (EADSY). Despite this disheartening development, there are signs of comeback at Boeing, and investors piled in, sending shares up modestly in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.

A closer look recently taken by a CNBC report revealed that Boeing is failing against Airbus on several key measures. Net profits are higher at Airbus, the report noted, as are orders, deliveries, and even overall backlog size. While certainly, Boeing is still in the hunt—just weeks ago it landed the biggest order in the company’s history—it is falling in several ways against its long-time rival.

The question, however, becomes whether or not Airbus can keep its position. After all, like we said, Boeing is making clear signs of turnaround, as evidenced by cost-cutting and several big orders. And certainly, the Airbus A320neo is giving Airbus a lot of room to run in the market. But Airbus is not without problems—who can forget just days ago the revelation that an Airbus facility was besieged by raccoons?—and Boeing is hardly standing still.

A Recovering Boeing

There are clear signs of recovery at Boeing. First, the company just rolled out its first 737 Max jet under a new production rate of 38 per month. That is the cap set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and one Boeing is eager to break through, potentially by the end of the year. While Boeing is also being cautious about declaring the rate achieved, the fact that it is getting there is a significant gain over even just a few months ago.

Further, Boeing’s share prices are on the rise. Boeing’s defense operations turned a profit for the first time in years, reports noted, and key objectives are becoming reality. Perhaps best of all, the 777X is on track for deliveries to start in 2026, which gives Boeing a chance at reasserting its dominance into the next generation of aircraft.

Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 16 Buys, three Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 12.11% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $217.32 per share implies 1.66% upside potential.

See more BA analyst ratings

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