Boeing (NYSE:BA) Trading 4.6% Higher – What’s Next?

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) shares were up 4.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $175.77 and last traded at $180.86. Approximately 3,326,032 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 8,568,057 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research upgraded Boeing from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Boeing from $103.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upgraded Boeing from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Boeing from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Boeing to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boeing presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.68.

Boeing Stock Up 4.4 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $172.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.54. The company has a market capitalization of $135.32 billion, a PE ratio of -9.85 and a beta of 1.53.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aircraft producer reported ($5.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.60) by ($4.30). During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.47) EPS. Analysts forecast that The Boeing Company will post -2.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Boeing

In other Boeing news, EVP Uma M. Amuluru sold 3,159 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.69, for a total transaction of $570,799.71. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,471,596.97. This trade represents a 14.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boeing

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Boeing by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,442,717 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $11,406,361,000 after acquiring an additional 12,641,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Boeing by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,171,869 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $2,677,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,452,075 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Boeing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $568,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Boeing in the fourth quarter worth approximately $526,889,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Boeing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $393,736,000. 64.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Boeing

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments.