A New Safety Plan Gives Boeing (NYSE:BA) Modest Gains

Well, here we are, folks; it’s the deadline for Boeing (NYSE:BA) to file its plan with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to demonstrate its newfound commitment to safety and get the training wheels taken off so that it can meet its production goals once more. Based on the outcome, Boeing investors were reasonably pleased, sending shares up fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading

Sadly, the outcome wasn’t fully what Boeing investors hoped for, as the FAA looks to leave the production caps in place. However, Boeing did make quite a few improvements. It put together a package of new training materials, increased employee training time by between 20 and 50 hours, depending on role, and brought in over 7,000 new tools to help better assemble the aircraft.

Interestingly, Boeing itself doesn’t seem particularly concerned about the cap the FAA put on its production, as it’s been producing below that cap on its own since it was put in. Meanwhile, the FAA plans to have weekly meetings with Boeing about its plans for change and a monthly review for some time to come.

Further Changes Afoot

Meanwhile, other developments are contributing to hopefully better conditions at Boeing. It’s found a fix for one of two de-icing issues that were holding up FAA certification of the 737 Max 7 and will start flight testing the modified version later this year. With this, Boeing believes that it can have both the Max 7 and the Max 10 certified by the FAA by, at the very latest, the end of 2025.

Is Boeing a Buy or Sell Stock?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 17 Buys, seven Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 15.67% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $219.57 per share implies 26.98% upside potential.

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