Aerospace stock Boeing (BA) was recently hit with some bad news, though it proved to be bad news that did surprisingly little damage to its share price. Boeing is no longer home to the most popular passenger aircraft on Earth, despite holding the title for nearly 40 years. Yet even with this loss, Boeing shares still ticked up fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The 737 was once the most popular passenger plane on Earth, and had been for quite some time. But recently, that crown went to Airbus (EADSY), Boeing’s immediate rival, and home of the A320, the new most popular passenger aircraft on Earth. Airbus officially crossed the line with the delivery of an A320 to Flynas, a Saudi airline. With that delivery, Airbus’ A320 hit 12,260 lifetime deliveries, which passed the 737’s total.
But the combination of concerns over safety after the door plug incident, coupled with a production slowdown that left Airbus able to eat away at Boeing’s lead over the course of several months, allowed Airbus to take the top slot for itself. The introduction of Airbus’ A320neo, meanwhile, only allowed Airbus to gain all the more rapidly.
A Decision Awaits
Remember a while back, about a month or so, when word emerged that the United States Navy was looking for a new fighter? More specifically, the F/A-XX sixth-generation model? We had heard that a decision was close, but it never materialized. Now, reports suggest that that is about to change, and Boeing is at the front of the pack.
Boeing and Northrop Grumman (NOC) are currently in competition for the title. And for both, there is plenty to lose here. Northrop Grumman is eyeing a return to prominence that it has not had since the F-14 Tomcat. Meanwhile, Boeing is out to secure its status as contractor of choice. We may actually get an answer sometime this week, reports suggest.
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 and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 42.08% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $256.13 per share implies 15.72% upside potential.
