While aerospace stock Boeing (BA) has come under fire lately for producing planes that seem to fall apart almost on contact with sunlight, it is also working on some unexpected potential wins. In fact, right now, it is working on the ground twin for an upcoming demonstration of a quantum satellite. That was great news to investors, who sent Boeing shares blasting up over 4.5% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
The ground-based twin is part of a larger satellite system that will, next year, demonstrate quantum networking in space, reports note. This is part of the demonstration to come; the second part will come when Boeing launches a satellite known as Q4S. Boeing will, ultimately, demonstrate “quantum entanglement,” which will in turn demonstrate how communications can take place instantaneously between a ground station and a space-based satellite, without sending any kind of signal or energy across the distance.
Right now, the hardware is currently undergoing tests to make sure it can survive the trip, and will hopefully be ready for the demo. It is also hoped that Boeing’s last space-based debacle, Starliner, will not be the forerunner of how this trial ends up.
“Snake Bit”
Then came the bad news, as infamous market analyst Jim Cramer revealed his feelings on Boeing, calling it “snake bit.” Cramer also revealed that he would be “…picking other ways to play aerospace.” While Cramer did acknowledge that Boeing has “…a lot of cash,” he basically seems to believe that Boeing had its shot and lost it.
But moves to change the culture at Boeing seem to be taking root. Recently, new CEO Kelly Ortberg called for feedback about the company, and boy, did he get it. Based on an internal survey, Boeing employees do not feel valued, or particularly cared about, and they do not trust management, either. Only 27% of respondents in a recent survey would recommend Boeing as a place to work, and Ortberg wanted to fix that. Thus, he brought together 40 employees called the Culture Working Group, who gave Boeing five new major values: Innovation, Ownership, Trust, People Focus, and the combination of Safety and Quality.
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 12 Buys, five Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 4.01% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $193.06 per share implies 18.17% upside potential.
