Aerospace stock Boeing (BA) has had its share of problems of late, but one of the big new ones seems to be connected to the 777X aircraft. Or rather, connected to the lack thereof. Boeing has been working to get this aircraft certified and ready for sale for some time now, and it does not look like the plane will be ready any time soon. This news is hitting shareholders where they live, as Boeing shares were down over 1.5% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The expected delivery date for the 777X was December 2019. With December 2025 now a couple months away, it looks like Boeing is about to kick off its seventh year of product delays. And worse, CEO Kelly Ortberg has little good news about the development pipeline, noting that certification issues were creating what he called “…a mountain of work.” Then, he admitted the worst, noting “We’re clearly behind our plan in getting the certification done.”
Customers are furious. President of Dubai-based Emirates Sir Timothy Clark noted, “I fail to see how Boeing can make any meaningful forecasts of delivery dates.” Worse, Clark plans to have a “serious discussion” with Boeing on the matter. Since Emirates’ entire order slate with Boeing is about one-third 777X planes out of a total of 200 ordered, it is crystal clear that Clark is right to be upset.
Light Show
But Boeing had something else to show off, which is both a surprise and a sad commentary on our society as things stand today. Recent images emerged of a Boeing 737 spewing out countermeasure flares, of the kind that could be used to break a heat-signature lock.
The Boeing 737 in question is not operating with any airline, but rather, is in service with the Polish Air Force. The countermeasures are exactly that, countermeasures designed to protect the plane against attack. This is actually just part of the 737’s defensive suite, reports note, with “photo-flash flares” also being used, among other pyrotechnic displays.
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 17 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 37.97% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $259.71 per share implies 22.14% upside potential.
