Boeing shares close lower on Friday, plane maker addresses Indonesia’s safety recommendations on Java Sea crash

According to a statement by Boeing Co (BA) last week, the company is addressing safety recommendations by Indonesian regulators after calls for improved cockpit systems and oversight.

Boeing shares closed lower for the sixth time in the past eleven trading sessions in New York on Friday. The stock went down 1.37% ($4.72) to $339.83, after touching an intraday low at $338.90 and an intraday high at $343.26.

Shares of Boeing Company have risen 5.37% so far in 2019 compared with a 20.57% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Boeing’s stock went up 9.36%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

In a final report from last week, Indonesia’s regulators made remarks about the design of the MCAS anti-stall system, which automatically pushed the nose of the 737 MAX down. As a result, pilots had to struggle for control.

According to Boeing, the way Angle of Attack sensors function with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) has been redesigned.

”MCAS will now only turn on if both AoA sensors agree, will only activate once in response to erroneous AOA, and will always be subject to a maximum limit that can be overridden with the control column,” the plane maker said in a statement, cited by Reuters.

A Lion Air-operated Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashed in the Java Sea in October 2018, which led to the death of all 189 people on board.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 20 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Boeing Company’s stock price, have a median target of $399.00, with a high estimate of $521.00 and a low estimate of $324.00. The median estimate represents a 17.41% upside compared to the closing price of $339.83 on October 25th.

The same media also reported that at least 12 out of 23 surveyed investment analysts had rated Boeing Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 10 – as “Buy”.