We know that aerospace stock Boeing (BA) has had some…issues…lately with quality. Though many of these are getting righted around, the point remains that a Boeing airplane is not what it once was in many cases. In fact, airlines are starting to revolt against a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule that calls for airlines to fix Boeing’s planes. The news, however, sent Boeing shares up over 2% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The new safety rule from the FAA would call for airlines to fix “…serious flaws in potentially thousands of Boeing 737 planes….” The FAA wants airlines that fly older 737 models to carry out additional inspections, particularly after regulators found fuselage cracks in several of these airliners. The FAA has been considering this as an “airworthiness directive” since last July, reports note. But airlines are fighting back, wanting their burden here lessened.
Thus, lobbyists have turned to Washington, and are calling for “…an alternative method of compliance” that gives airlines more room to function rather than spending big money to carry out inspections themselves. There are some signs that such an alternative will be allowed, though there are no signs, as yet, as to just what that alternative method will be.
Then They Rolled Out the Vertibird
Meanwhile, Boeing also brought out a point that Fallout enthusiasts will likely recognize almost immediately: a new line of “tiltrotor drones” that are intended as attack aircraft. Yes, it looks a lot like the Vertibird of Fallout fame, though there will be no door gunners involved. Rather, the aircraft in question are drones which carry weapons and are intended for use alongside human-manned aircraft.
There are two drones in the lineup so far, and more may follow later. The drones are based on the V-22 Osprey, a craft that has proven its value over the last several years. But since these drones are designed to be modular, it is a safe bet we will see several mission-specific variants in the meantime.
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 15 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 41.44% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $256.43 per share implies 19.2% upside potential.
