Here's Why Traders Turned Bullish on Boeing Stock

Key Points

• Boeing stock dipped after its quarterly earnings results, though Wall Street traders saw the numbers as a net positive and bought thousands of call options.
• Analysts agree with this view, boosting their ratings and valuation targets.
• Institutional firms buy the stock after earnings, boosting sentiment and future upside.

Anything outside of the technology sector in the United States seems to be falling out of favor with investors in terms of attention and capital. This behavior and attention divergence today have led some great companies and brands in the rest of the economy to become “easy wins” for those who know what they’re looking for and how to spot them.

For retail investors, this signal comes through an unusual call options activity screener, which started flashing recently for shares of the Boeing Co. NYSE: BA. It is one thing for investors to see an unusual amount of shares traded; however, it is an entirely different game when options on those underlying shares lead this unusual activity.

The reason this is significant is that the stakes for trading options are much higher than when trading a stock outright, as options introduce a substantial amount of additional leverage (and risk) into the situation. Notably, these contracts have an expiration date, so anyone trading them is racing against the clock while being levered up. This indicates that a high volume of these instruments traded points to a strong conviction view on Boeing stock.

Boeing’s Earnings Dip Could Be Erased

After reporting its latest set of quarterly financials, shares of Boeing fell by roughly 3% in a single week; however, there seems to be a much more bullish underlying sentiment brewing up for the company and its future, one that may point to a steady recovery and even breakout into new highs.

Since the stock still trades above 90% of its 52-week high and has gained 18.7% this quarter, investors and traders can’t deny that momentum has favored Boeing this year, marking a positive shift from its previous performance.

The reason for this underlying momentum and why options traders decided to buy 169,467 call options for Boeing stock (profiting if the price goes up) can be found inside the quarter's financial results, which show investors that there really wasn’t much of a reason for the stock to sell off in the first place.

Revenues increased to $22.7 billion, showing a net 35% growth rate compared to the same quarter last year, not the type of percentages that can be expected from a slowing company, much less from a stock that sold off by that much. More than that, the company is well on its way to meeting its free cash flow projections in the future.

Management had pointed to some pretty aggressive free cash flow guidance figures earlier in 2025, and Boeing's now-reported $227 million in operating cash flows brings the entire company one step closer to meeting these forecasts in the future.

Building on the previous momentum, this might have been the bullish signal these options traders awaited. However, retail investors require additional confirmation from the broader market before they consider this stock for themselves.

Institutional Capital Lands on Boeing Stock

Around the time of Boeing's quarterly financial release in late July 2025, institutional investors from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group chose to increase their stake by purchasing an extra 2.3% of Boeing shares. After this new allocation, the group’s entire stake was boosted to $422.2 million, giving retail investors confidence in further upside.

These buyers weren’t the only ones willing to express their optimism for Boeing stock and its future, as the other side of the equation (Wall Street analysts) decided to pitch in right after the company released its quarterly earnings. 

Given the revenue growth and better cash flows, analysts' outlook for the stock is optimistic:

• Gavin Parsons of UBS Group reaffirmed his Buy rating for Boeing and raised his target price to $280 from $255.
• Ronald Epstein of Bank of America also issued a Buy rating, increasing his valuation to $270 per share from $260.

Combining these two perspectives suggests an average valuation of $275 per share for Boeing stock, indicating a potential implied rally of about 25% from its current level. According to 25 analysts covering Boeing, the stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating. Given the significant upside potential and strong financial performance, it’s understandable why call option traders have shown such high conviction in Boeing.