Boeing (NYSE:BA) Shares Up 4.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) traded up 4.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $175.77 and last traded at $180.86. 3,326,032 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 8,568,057 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded Boeing from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Boeing to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Boeing in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Boeing from $103.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Boeing from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Boeing presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.68.

Boeing Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $133.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.73 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $172.98 and a 200-day moving average of $163.59.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aircraft producer reported ($5.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.60) by ($4.30). During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.47) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Boeing Company will post -2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boeing news, EVP Uma M. Amuluru sold 3,159 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.69, for a total transaction of $570,799.71. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,471,596.97. The trade was a 14.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boeing

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keynote Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Boeing by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Chaney Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Boeing by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Chaney Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,870 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Boeing by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 10,608 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in Boeing by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 562 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trek Financial LLC boosted its position in Boeing by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 64.82% of the stock is owned by 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.