By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing – Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares were up just short of 1% in Tuesday’s premarket on double boost from Morgan Stanley reiterating its ‘overweight’ on the stock and a new order win to supply SMBC Aviation 14 jets from its 737 MAX catalog.
Morgan Stanley analyst Kristine Liwag pointed out to Boeing 737 tracker showing substantial increase in domestic flights in April while reiterating her target of $274 for the stock, StreetInsider said.
The data thrown up by the tracker is a positive development not just for Boeing but also airlines given the aviation sector has had a subdued comeback compared to other consumer sectors like retail and restaurants.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) were all up 0.5%-1%. United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) gained 1.4% premarket.
Prospects of more crude supplies as nuclear talks with Iran enter a crucial phase were keeping oil prices weaker, further lending help to airline stocks.
In another positive development for Boeing, SMBC Aviation has placed an order for 14 additional jets of the single-aisle 737 MAX. The order marks another confidence booster for Boeing seeking to put more 737 MAX in the sky as it puts behind safety issues that plagued the plane for long.
A May 21 Reuters report said Boeing has drawn up preliminary plans to raise output of the narrow-body planes to as many as 42 units a month by fall 2022.
Two accidents in 2018 and 2019 forced authorities to ground 737 MAX, which was at the time Boeing's biggest money maker in a booming market for narrow body planes. The 20-month safety ban was lifted in November after the company made the fixes.
But the flights were halted in April after a separate electrical issue led the manufacturer to stop deliveries of the planes with an advisory to its clients not to fly those in their fleet.
Boeing secured on May 13 a much-awaited regulatory nod for the electrical fix that had kept some 100 of its 737 MAX series grounded.