Traders Buy Large Volume of Boeing Call Options (NYSE:BA)

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 186,932 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 55% compared to the typical daily volume of 120,345 call options.

Boeing Price Performance

Shares of Boeing stock traded up $5.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $206.62. The company had a trading volume of 13,247,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,174,184. The company's 50-day moving average is $177.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.40. Boeing has a twelve month low of $128.88 and a twelve month high of $212.15. The company has a market cap of $155.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.29 and a beta of 1.41.

Boeing (NYSE:BA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aircraft producer reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.39) by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $19.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.13) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Boeing will post -2.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Boeing

In other news, EVP Jeffrey S. Shockey sold 3,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,472.31. This represents a 13.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brendan J. Nelson sold 640 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.28, for a total transaction of $132,019.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,734,860.24. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,744 shares of company stock worth $1,511,370. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Boeing

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Boeing by 473.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,565,337 shares of the aircraft producer's stock worth $268,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,417 shares in the last quarter. KKM Financial LLC grew its holdings in Boeing by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 15,368 shares of the aircraft producer's stock valued at $2,720,000 after buying an additional 5,175 shares during the last quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Boeing during the 4th quarter valued at $903,000. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV increased its position in Boeing by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 13,815 shares of the aircraft producer's stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 5,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boeing by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Winslow Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,761 shares of the aircraft producer's stock worth $7,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Boeing in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Boeing in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Boeing from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Boeing from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Melius Research set a $204.00 price objective on shares of Boeing in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.35.

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.

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