The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,420,000 shares, a growth of 13.1% from the September 30th total of 12,750,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BA has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Boeing from $235.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Boeing from $232.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Boeing from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Boeing from $240.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Boeing from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Boeing has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Boeing by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,724,770 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $9,596,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,816 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Boeing by 1.2% in the second quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 31,640,184 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $5,758,830,000 after buying an additional 388,633 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Boeing by 1.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,619,126 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $1,386,757,000 after buying an additional 106,513 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Boeing by 14.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,203,435 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $811,221,000 after buying an additional 518,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Boeing by 2.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,432,485 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $624,749,000 after buying an additional 67,474 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.82% of the company’s stock.

Boeing Price Performance

Shares of BA traded down $5.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $149.29. The stock had a trading volume of 29,037,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,766,683. The company has a market capitalization of $91.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.64 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $158.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.24. Boeing has a 52 week low of $146.02 and a 52 week high of $267.54.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The aircraft producer reported ($10.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($10.34) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $17.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($3.26) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Boeing will post -5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

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.