Al Root

It has taken a while to get to this point, but investors and Wall Street are feeling better about Boeing shares.

After an epic rally, the question is, what comes next for Boeing stock?

Coming into Wednesday trading, Boeing stock has climbed almost 50% from its postelection lows of less than $140 a share. That shows investors are more optimistic about the aerospace company. Wall Street is too: The average analyst price target is up about $31, to $209 a share from $178 a share, over the same span.

Price target increases keep coming. On Tuesday, Bernstein analyst Doug Harned increased his price target to $249 a share from $218, and maintained his Buy rating. He cited a spate of recent orders and Chinese deliveries restarting after an easing of recent U.S.-China trade tensions.

Boeing stock was up 0.7% in early trading Tuesday at $206.73 following the target increase, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

Shares look due for a pullback -- or at least a breather.

"I don't see Boeing pushing much beyond $215 in the short term," says CappThesis founder and market technician Frank Cappelleri. At that level, Boeing shares would have recaptured about 62% of the 2023 to 2025 decline, a level where investors might pause.

Cappelleri isn't making a fundamental call on Boeing stock. Instead, he's using stock charts and market history to understand where shares can go over the short- and medium-term. Stock charts contain a lot of information about the levels at which investors have bought and sold over time.

"The stock's 14-day relative strength index is also in the mid-70s, which is not sustainable," added Cappelleri. Relative strength is a term used by traders that essentially looks at how fast a stock is rising or falling. A reading of 50 is normal, while 70 is high, signaling investors are feeling a little too good. A reading of 30 is low, signaling investors might be feeling too bearish. "The last time the [RSI] indicator was that high was late December 2024, which eventually led to a pullback."

Boeing hasn't reported a full-year profit since 2018, the year before the second fatal 737 MAX crash, which grounded the plane worldwide between March 2019 and November 2020. Since then, Boeing has faced regulatory, production, labor, legal, and management hurdles.

Wall Street doesn't expect a profit in 2025, but projects one in 2026 and beyond. Analysts model $10 billion in free cash flow in 2028. Shares trade for about 15.5 times that amount. Airbus trades for about 17 times 2028 free cash flow estimates.

Overall, 65% of analysts covering Boeing stock rate shares Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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May 20, 2025 10:56 ET (14:56 GMT)

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