Boeing (NYSE:BA) Trading 1.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) were up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $217.68 and last traded at $215.75. Approximately 4,476,122 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 9,472,233 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BA. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Boeing in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Boeing from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Boeing from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $181.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Boeing in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Boeing from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boeing has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.77.

Boeing Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $202.13 and its 200-day moving average is $181.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.04 and a beta of 1.41.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aircraft producer reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.39) by $0.90. The business had revenue of $19.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.13) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Boeing Company will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Christopher Raymond sold 3,899 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.01, for a total transaction of $729,151.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,513 shares in the company, valued at $7,950,356.13. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brendan J. Nelson sold 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.28, for a total transaction of $132,019.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,734,860.24. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,744 shares of company stock worth $1,511,370 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boeing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Boeing by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,442,717 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $11,406,361,000 after purchasing an additional 12,641,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Boeing by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,171,869 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $2,677,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,452,075 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Boeing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $568,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Boeing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $526,889,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Boeing during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $393,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.82% of the company’s stock.

About Boeing

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments.