Remember Starliner? Sure you do. It was the attempted space program from aerospace stock Boeing (BA) that turned a single mission from what should have been about a 10-day run to one that went nearly 10 months instead. And now, Boeing is finding the Starliner program cut at the NASA level, which did not sit well with shareholders. Boeing shares slipped fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The original Starliner contract ran for six missions. But NASA decided to pare that back, dropping Boeing down to just four missions instead. And, just to make it worse, the next Starliner mission would have no crew, which means that no one else will find themselves stranded as an extended houseguest of the International Space Station.
Reasons were unclear at the time, though it is a safe bet it had something to do with the debacle that the previous Starliner mission turned into. That mission featured the capsule having to come back without its crew, and the crew having to hitch a ride home on the next Space Dragon flight. There were reports that Boeing was trying to get the Starliner project righted around for another flight later, but new reports suggest that it will have fewer chances than ever to do so.
We Have a What Now?
Meanwhile, Boeing factored in unexpectedly to plans with Air India, as it recently sold a plane it did not remember actually owning. Air India went private three years ago, reports note, and as such, some assets went unnoticed. One asset in particular, a 737-200 also known as a “Baby Boeing,” had actually been sitting idle at an airport in Kolkata. It was apparently sufficiently idle that Air India did not even notice it was there.
The aircraft had, reportedly, been earmarked as part of India Post operations, but was simply never used. Now, the aircraft has been sold for an unstated figure. Air India, meanwhile, declared the plane “another old cobweb” in its closet, and one that contributed to the bottom line one last time.
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 13 Buys, two Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 17.37% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $249.07 per share implies 39.85% upside potential.
