After disasters struck the 737 MAX line of jets at aerospace stock Boeing (BA), one of the biggest unanswered questions surrounding the company was how fast it would be able to get its production back up. New reports suggest a fresh boost of productivity may be poised to hit by the end of this month, a move that gave shareholders fresh wind as well. Boeing shares were up nearly 1.5% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Reports suggested that Boeing was poised to raise its production of 737 MAX jets from the current 38 to 42 per month, potentially starting as early as this month. Once it gets to that point, Boeing plans to hold that rate for six months, to make sure that the mechanics and suppliers involved in production are not “…overly pressured by producing an extra Boeing 737 MAX each week.”
With the information from that production hike in hand, Boeing then looks to go back to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in six months to discuss another rate increase from there. Should the data hold up, and the FAA prove willing, Boeing plans another hike in April 2026, then a third hike to happen in “late 2026.” Ultimately, reports note, Boeing wants to get to “…around 53 jets a month by the end of next year.”
Dreamliner Safety
Just as Boeing is looking to ramp up production on the 737 MAX, there are now concerns emerging about the safety of the Dreamliner. You may remember how an Air India flight saw a sudden power loss, complete with the deployment of the ram air turbine (RAT) system. New reports say the RAT on a different Dreamliner was deployed, and unexpectedly.
The reports noted that flight 117 from Amritsar to Birmingham, England saw its RAT suddenly engage, a phenomenon that should not happen without a major systems issue like power loss in the engines, a hydraulic system failure or an electrical system outage. None of these were found in the plane in question, but that is not stopping the Federation of Indian Pilots from calling for Indian authorities to start mass inspections on the Dreamliner line.
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 38.73% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $257 per share implies 17.19% upside potential.
