Boeing (NYSE:BA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Boeing (NYSE:BA - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $235.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the aircraft producer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 1.73% from the company's current price.

BA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Benchmark lowered their target price on Boeing from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Boeing in a research note on Monday. Redburn Atlantic raised Boeing from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $212.00 price target on Boeing and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Boeing in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boeing has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.55.

Boeing Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BA traded up $1.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $231.00. 7,886,051 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,575,267. The company's 50 day moving average is $208.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.17 billion, a PE ratio of -12.89 and a beta of 1.41. Boeing has a 52 week low of $128.88 and a 52 week high of $233.61.

Boeing (NYSE:BA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aircraft producer reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.39) by $0.90. The business had revenue of $19.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.13) earnings per share. Boeing's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Boeing will post -2.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Christopher Raymond sold 3,899 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.01, for a total value of $729,151.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,950,356.13. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey S. Shockey sold 3,205 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.87, for a total value of $650,198.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,472.31. This trade represents a 13.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,744 shares of company stock valued at $1,511,370 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boeing

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Boeing by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,442,717 shares of the aircraft producer's stock worth $11,406,361,000 after purchasing an additional 12,641,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Boeing by 29.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,452,075 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Boeing during the fourth quarter worth about $568,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Boeing during the fourth quarter worth about $526,889,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Boeing during the fourth quarter worth about $393,736,000. 64.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.