Latest news with #Harned
CNBC
a day ago
- Business
- CNBC
The scale of Trump's 'Golden Dome' is a boon for defense stocks even if it isn't completed, says Bernstein
Major defense stocks can still benefit even if President Donald Trump 's "Golden Dome" project fails, according to Bernstein. The prospect of completing the missile defense system before the end of Trump's term in 2029, which the president has cited as his goal for the project, is highly unlikely, analyst Douglas Harned wrote in a note to clients last week. However, that doesn't mean the effort won't drive business for the defense industry, he said. "Even if the system fails to deliver, we expect elements to survive and for companies to profit off efforts, even when they do not succeed — and spending could go much higher," Harned said. Creating such an expansive defense system will likely require contributions and cooperation from the entire industry, Harned explained. Also, Trump has also mentioned extending contracts to some nontraditional companies, Harned said, adding that this decision may not make the project any easier. "While we see little chance that the system will be complete within three years, we expect money will be spent and benefit most major defense contractors," he said. Harned expects L3Harris Technologies , RTX, Northrop Grumman , Lockheed Martin , BAE Systems and Boeing will be among the beneficiaries. Bernstein rates Boeing and L3Harris Technologies overweight, and has a market perform rating on the rest. Harned's $273 per share price target on L3Harris implies nearly 10% upside from Wednesday's $248.83 close, while his $249 price target for Boeing suggests roughly 25% upside. Boeing shares closed at $197.68 on Wednesday, giving it a 13% year to date gain. L3Harris shares are up 19% over the same period. (Markets were closed Thursday.) Trump estimated last month that the project will cost roughly $175 billion, but Harned anticipates it will ultimately cost more than that. About $25 billion has already been included in the 2026 U.S. defense budget, according to Trump. The project's ambitions are a big challenge, according to the analyst. "In order to truly defend the entire US," he said, "it will be necessary to go back to a complex multi-layered system, that can address a wide range of attacks." "The cost of true coverage of the US will be extreme, with the problem that the system would always need to evolve as enemies evolve their capabilities," Harned said. "The situation is analogous to cybersecurity. It is much less expensive to attack than it is to defend."
CNBC
05-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Wall Street sentiment on Boeing is improving as 737 MAX production increases
Sentiment on Wall Street been strengthening steadily on Boeing shares, with the aerospace behemoth finally gaining some momentum. Sixty-nine percent of analysts surveyed by FactSet rate Boeing either buy or overweight. That's up from 52% at the end of 2024. Consensus price targets call for about 2% upside from Wednesday's close. The stock has been on a tear in 2025 as well, with a gain of nearly 20%, while the S & P 500 has ticked up 1.5%. JPMorgan, Wolfe Research and Bernstein are among the Wall Street shops that have raised price targets for Boeing stock over the past month. JPMorgan and Wolfe Research both attributed their more upbeat view to the improved pace of production for the troubled 737 MAX and a record-breaking order from Qatar Airways that followed President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle Eastern country. For Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned, Boeing's ability to steadily increase monthly production of its 737 MAX, with the hopes of stabilizing at around 38 per month, is a key reason he thinks sentiment has shifted. "This stock is a momentum-type stock, and people will want to be in it well ahead of when they're actually there," Harned told CNBC when discussing the company's monthly production goals. "What you've seen is slowly, but surely, skeptical people have started to see the evidence — or hear about it at least — in a more compelling way than in the past." Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said last month that the company was resuming plane deliveries to China in June, after the Trump administration's trade war prompted a pause. Ortberg also told Bernstein at the firm's Strategic Differences Conference last month that Boeing could produce as many as 42 737 MAX planes by the end of the year. "We think of this as truly 'back to the future' as we look at how the stock behaved back before 2019, prior to the 737MAX groundings and Covid, when there was optimism about the future," Harned wrote in a Monday note, where he also labeled Boeing stock a top pick. Harned's $249 per share price target implies about 17% upside from Wednesday's $211.98 close. BA YTD mountain Boeing stock in 2025. Boeing's troubles extend back to 2018, when Lion Air Flight 610 crashed killing all 189 aboard. After a second deadly crash, the 737 MAX fleet was grounded for 20 months . Just last year, Boeing faced more trouble after the door flew off of one of its 737 MAX 9's midair. Wolfe Research analyst Myles Walton said in a May note to clients that he had already been optimistic that 2025 would see significantly improved production times for the 737 MAX fleet, however, the Qatar order provided more confidence that the stock could continue to run. "A Big Beautiful Order should help (not yet) big beautiful cash flow," the analyst said. Walton upped his price target to $230 per share from $195 last month, which equates to about 9% upside from Wednesday's close. "With balance sheet concerns addressed for the next few years and a backlog of ~$500b, we see potential for BA to outperform if the company can improve execution," JPMorgan analyst Seth Seifman wrote in a note last month. "Specifically, this means gradually increasing production of 737s and 787s while bringing the 777X closer to entering service." Despite Seifman's optimism, JPMorgan's $200 per share price target implies shares could slide 6% from here.
CNBC
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Bernstein raises its price target on this stock with a 'history of momentum'
Bernstein is doubling down on its bullish outlook on Boeing . Analyst Douglas Harned maintained his outperform rating on Boeing shares and assigned a fresh price target of $249, up from $218. His new target suggests roughly 21% upside for the stock, which is up 16% this year. Harned sees a strong growth runway for Boeing and said its defense business could return to being a powerful cash generator. He also highlighted recent developments such as Boeing's restart of deliveries to China, its deal with Qatar Airways announced last week to provide up to 210 widebody jets and easing tariff concerns. "Positive events support the stock's upward momentum," the analyst wrote in a Monday note to clients. "Last week, we saw large new widebody orders, a restart of deliveries to China, and support for defense programs, raising our confidence in Boeing's growth path. There is still more upside potential." "None of this is without risk, given Boeing's many missteps over the last decade. But, as positive elements appear to line up, we believe there is more risk in not owning a stock with a history of momentum," Harned added. To be sure, the analyst still has concerns about seemingly light May 737 deliveries so far and timing for certification on Boeing's 737 Max 7 and Max 10 aircrafts. Harned's rating comes nearly a month after he upgraded Boeing to outperform from market perform. The analyst had cited Boeing's progress on 737 Max and 787 production ramps, improvement in defense performance, and strong cash position that outweighed concerns of tariff impacts as his reasoning for the upgrade. Analysts polled by LSEG have an average price target on Boeing shares that indicate just 1% potential upside. Twenty of the 29 covering the stock have a strong buy or buy rating.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'We'll Happily Take Them All': Boeing Stock (NYSE:BA) Gains as Another Buyer for the Chinese Planes Emerges
It was just a few days ago when we heard that Air India was interested in buying the refused Chinese planes that China turned away as the result of the tariff war. And that gave aerospace stock Boeing (BA) a boost back then. Now, another potential buyer has come forward, ready to deal, and that is also giving Boeing a boost. As a result, Boeing shares are up over 2% in Monday afternoon's trading. Discover companies with rock-solid fundamentals in TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter. Receive undervalued stocks, resilient to market uncertainty, delivered straight to your inbox. Aeroflot stepped in after hearing several Boeing aircraft were available for immediate purchase, though not without some caveats. Air India then stepped up as well, without the caveats, ready to make a deal. Now, Riyadh Air in Saudi Arabia is ready to join in the hunt, and there may be enough planes to go around. Reports noted that there may be 'dozens' of planes involved here, and Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas has made it clear Riyadh Air is ready to deal. 'What we've done…is made it quite clear to Boeing, should that ever happen, and the keyword there is should, we'll happily take them all,' Douglas said in an interview with Reuters. Given that the jet market remains 'tight,' it is a safe bet that the Chinese planes will easily find new buyers. We have already seen three such buyers step forth. Meanwhile, analysts are giving Boeing a leg up as well. Douglas Harned, analyst with Bernstein—who has a four-star ranking on TipRanks—boosted the rating and the price target on Boeing, which likely contributed to Boeing's gains today. Harned bolstered the rating from Market Perform to Outperform, and sent the price target up from its previous level of $181 to a new $218. That represents, roughly, a 23% premium against Friday's closing numbers, reports note. Basically, Harned notes, Boeing's turnaround project is bearing fruit, and in a big way. Boeing has now basically recovered to the point where it is on track to grow like the Alaska Air (ALK) door plug incident never happened. Naturally, Boeing still has problems. Controversies aplenty, government overwatch, and more are all on the table. But Boeing is likely to come out of all of this stronger, Harned notes. Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 15 Buys, three Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 4.9% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $200.47 per share implies 10.2% upside potential. See more BA analyst ratings Disclosure Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
30-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
‘Load Up,' Says Douglas Harned About Boeing Stock
Back in 2023, Boeing (NYSE:BA) appeared to be well-positioned to put recent woes behind it. The company was recovering from the aftermath of the 737 MAX crashes and looked on track to generate $10 billion in free cash flow by 2025. However, that outlook changed dramatically in January 2024, when a door panel detached mid-flight from an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9. Protect Your Portfolio Against Market Uncertainty Discover companies with rock-solid fundamentals in TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter. Receive undervalued stocks, resilient to market uncertainty, delivered straight to your inbox. While initially thought to be an isolated incident, subsequent investigations – amid intense FAA scrutiny due to Boeing's past MAX issues – revealed deeper, systemic problems within Boeing's manufacturing processes. Other challenges included 787 production problems, certification delays for several models, and major leadership changes. Additionally, in the summer of 2024, supply chain issues hampered production of the 737 and 787, followed by a strike by the Machinists Union in September that shut down Boeing's Puget Sound operations. The strike did not come out of the blue, but nevertheless, Boeing was poorly prepared. The company's challenges were made worse by ongoing underperformance in its Defense & Space Systems (BDS) division, which recorded financial charges in every quarter of 2022, 2023, and 2024. Yet, despite the storm clouds, Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned sees a silver lining. He argues that now might actually be the perfect moment for investors to swoop in and grab Boeing shares while sentiment remains grounded. 'Boeing is now making the progress it needed for the growth trajectory we expected before the Alaska door plug accident in January 2024,' the analyst said. 'While we cannot assume all risks are gone, after high FAA scrutiny, BCA should be on a much firmer path than in 2023.' Harned continues to expect 737 MAX production will reach 38 aircraft per month by July – right in line with management's projections from the Q1 earnings call. Encouragingly, the updated guidance for the 787 exceeded his expectations, with production expected to climb to 7 per month before year-end, thanks to resolved quality and heat exchanger supply issues. As for the 737, Boeing CEO Larry Ortberg floated the possibility of ramping up to 42 per month by year-end, pending FAA cooperation. Harned, taking a more cautious view, assumes that milestone will slip to January. The analyst is also projecting steady production increases to 47, 52, and eventually 57 per month, roughly every nine months, even though Boeing's own targets are more aggressive. 'But,' Harned goes on to add, 'we prefer to be conservative, as Boeing has not done such rapid rate breaks before. All of this is against a backdrop of a duopoly with demand that should outstrip supply through the decade.' Meanwhile, after years of BDS setbacks, there were no new financial charges, marking a positive shift. More significantly, Boeing's F-47 contract win has revitalized its defense division. On the downside, there are tariffs, higher BCA costs, and lingering 787 interior issues to consider. Certification risk also remains for the MAX-7 and MAX-10, and halted China deliveries are a headwind, though the planes could be remarketed. All told, the positives outweigh the negatives, and that merits an upgrade. Harned's rating on Boeing shares goes from Market Perform (i.e., Neutral) to Outperform (i.e., Buy), while his price target also goes from $181 to $218, suggesting shares will gain ~20% over the coming months. (To watch Harned's track record, click here) Elsewhere on the Street, Boeing stock receives an additional 14 Buys, 3 Holds and 1 Sell, for a Moderate Buy consensus rating. Going by the $200.47 average price target, the shares will appreciate by 10% over the coming months. (See Boeing stock forecast) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.
