Boeing Shares Slip Despite Growing Optimism Around China Orders

Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) shares fell on Thursday as investors weighed potential China aircraft deals against growing political skepticism.

• Boeing shares are sliding. Why are BA shares down?

Boeing CEO Joins Beijing Delegation

CEO Kelly Ortberg joined President Donald Trump's delegation to Beijing, placing the company at the center of trade and aircraft deal discussions during the trip.

Ortberg previously said on Boeing's first-quarter earnings call that he was "confident" the summit would include aircraft orders, adding that Trump had been "very focused" on supporting Boeing in international campaigns.

China Deal Expectations Grow

The discussions are significant for Boeing, which has not secured a major order from a Chinese airline in nearly a decade.

Reports indicated a potential deal involving more than 500 aircraft, while prediction markets on Kalshi assigned an 82% probability to a Boeing purchase announcement.

Political Skepticism Weighs On Sentiment

However, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) warned that China has "never lived up to one contract they’ve ever signed," highlighting broader investor concerns about whether any agreement would ultimately be completed.

The stock is caught between optimism tied to Boeing's renewed engagement in China and uncertainty surrounding the reliability of potential deals.

Boeing Stock: Key Levels To Watch

Boeing trades 0.2% above its 20-day SMA and5.67% above its 200-day SMA. The stock continues to hold its intermediate-term uptrend despite Thursday's pullback.

The MACD remains above its signal line, while the histogram stays positive, signaling improving momentum. The setup suggests downside pressure is easing, and rebounds could gain strength.

In simple terms, the MACD above the signal line indicates bullish momentum outweighs bearish momentum.

Key levels are fairly tight here, so traders will likely watch whether the stock can stabilize above near-term support or gets pushed into a deeper mean-reversion move.

• Key Resistance: $236.50 — Nearby pivot area where rebounds can stall
• Key Support: $215.50 — Prior buyer-defense zone and a level that sits below the cluster of longer moving averages

Boeing Earnings Preview: July 2026 Estimates

The next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the July 28 (estimated) earnings report.

• EPS Estimate: Loss of 24 cents (Up from $-1.24 year-over-year)
• Revenue Estimate: $23.94 billion (Up from $22.75 billion YoY)
• Valuation: P/E of 95.1x (Indicates premium valuation relative to peers)

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with a consensus price target of $248.30. Recent analyst moves include:

• Tigress Financial: Buy (Raises target to $295 on April 29)
• Morgan Stanley: Equal-Weight (Raises target to $250 on April 23)
• Citigroup: Buy (Lowers target to $256 on April 2)

BA Stock Price Activity: Boeing shares were down 3.32% at $232.61 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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