The world’s largest aerospace company, Boeing (NYSE:BA), delivered fewer airplanes in October than in the preceding month. However, orders came in far ahead of expectations.
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The company shipped 35 airplanes in October, down 31.4% from September’s number. Deliveries for the 737 aircraft, which was grounded for a few months between 2019 and 2020, were 23, a decrease of 14 planes month-over-month.
Though this looks worrisome, investors were not particularly concerned, as evident from the 3% climb in share prices at the end of Monday’s trading hours and a further 1% gain in extended trading.
Investors were cheering for the other upbeat metric for October—orders. Remarkably, 122 new orders were booked, up from September’s 96 new orders and six cancellations.
Boeing has delivered 363 airplanes this year as of September, including around 300 737 MAXs. The company has until the end of December to ensure that all MAX planes have modern cockpit alerting systems ready to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If Congress does not grant an extension on the deadline set by the FAA, deliveries of MAX airplanes might face significant delays.
Nonetheless, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun remains confident that the company will get an extension.
Also, the company provided articulate guidance after almost four years, which buoyed investors’ and analysts’ confidence in the stock.
Is BA a Buy or Sell?
BA stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on Wall Street, as supported by 11 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell. The average price target for Boeing stock is $190.85, meaning that the stock can appreciate up to 12.5% over the next year.
