Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) shares are trading lower Thursday afternoon as traders weighed fresh defense-contract headlines against a mixed tape for industrial names.
The pullback comes even after Boeing logged 143 commercial deliveries in the first quarter (up from 130 a year ago) and 30 defense deliveries (up from 26), keeping the delivery cadence in focus ahead of the April 22 earnings date in the first quarter.
The U.S. Army on Wednesday awarded Boeing a $324 million contract for six CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopters, lifting the total number of Block II aircraft under contract to 24. Boeing says it has already delivered six CH-47F Block II production helicopters to the Army, with the first unit expected to field no later than mid-CY28 after delivery of Lot 3 aircraft.
Boeing is also pushing incremental value on the commercial side by evaluating Viasat's AERA electronically steered antenna as a selectable line-fit option across programs including the 737 MAX and 777X, with AERA targeted to enter service in early 2028 in a selectable line-fit.
Boeing is sitting in the middle of its 52-week range ($153.54 to $254.35), which points to a market still debating the next leg of trend. The stock is trading 5% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA), a sign near-term trend is still pointed up, but it is also trading 0.9% below its 100-day SMA, which hints the intermediate trend is still trying to firm up.
The moving average structure is mixed: the 20-day SMA is below the 50-day SMA (bearish), but the golden cross in January (50-day SMA above the 200-day SMA) keeps the longer-term backdrop from looking broken. With price also about 1% below the 200-day SMA, the chart is acting like it's stuck in a "prove it" zone where rallies need follow-through.
The moving average convergence divergence (MACD), a trend/momentum measure, is in a bullish posture with the MACD line above the signal line and a positive histogram, which leans toward improving upside momentum. That setup reads as buyers having a bit more control than sellers right now, even with Thursday's pullback.
The countdown is on: Boeing Company is set to report earnings on April 22.
Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy Rating with an average price target of $276.40. Recent analyst moves include:
BA Stock Price Activity: Boeing shares were down 2.76% at $217.75 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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