It’s time to move to the sidelines on Boeing as short-term headwinds pile up, according to CFRA. The firm downgraded the aircraft maker to hold from buy on Thursday and lowered its 12-month price target to $210 from $253. CFRA’s new forecast still implies a 5% upside from Boeing’s close of $199.95 on Thursday afternoon. Analyst Stewart Glickman said the cuts are warranted “by a litany of quality control issues across the aerospace industry. Should such issues persist, we think BA’s delivery schedule may suffer to some degree.” The downgrade comes a month after Boeing said a new manufacturing flaw on its 737 Max jet will delay deliveries of the strong-selling aircraft. That disclosure followed the company warning on another defect related to 787 Dreamliners . These issues have led to Boeing shares lagging the broader market this year. The stock is up nearly 5% in 2023, while the S & P 500 has climbed 12.8%. BA YTD mountain Boeing ytd chart Glickman also cut his 2024 earnings forecast to $5.39 per share from $6.02 per share. The analyst added that Boeing’s new guidance of delivering 50 planes per month from its 737 aircraft line by 2025 to 2026 “affords time to resolve issues,” but is still optimistic. Despite these challenges, he emphasized his confidence in the company over the long run. “We still believe in the long-term story for aircraft demand and estimate that about 76% of the 2022 global fleet is likely to need replacement by 2042, which is a strong opportunity for BA,” Glickman said. — Michael Bloom contributed to this report
