Airbus Stock Catches an Upgrade. That’s Good for Boeing, Too.

Coming into Thursday trading, Airbus stock was up about 19% year to date. Boeing shares had gained about 31%. (STEPHANE MOUCHMOUCHE/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Shares of Airbus rose as UBS raised its rating on the maker of commercial jets to Buy, highlighting the strength of demand for planes.

Analyst Ian Douglas-Pennant, who had rated the stock at Hold, lifted his target price to €220 ($256) from €180 ($210). “Pent-up” replacement demand allows Airbus to see how many jets it can sell until at least 2030, UBS said.

Airbus stock rose 1.2% to €186.86 ($217.69) in overseas trading. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%. Boeing stock dropped 0.7%.

There isn’t any good reason Boeing stock should react to an upgrade of Airbus, but the demand outlook is strong for both companies. Boeing’s unfilled orders total about 6,000 jets, while the equivalent number for Airbus is about 8,700.

Estimated 2025 jet deliveries for the pair are roughly 1,400, according to FactSet. Order backlogs for commercial airplanes stretch out for more than 10 years at the current pace of production.

That strong demand outlook has kept both stocks popular on Wall Street. Overall, 79% of the analysts covering Boeing stock rate shares at Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%. The average analyst price target is about $259, up about 12% from recent levels.

For Airbus, 75% of analysts covering the stock rate shares Buy. The average analyst price target is about €202, up about 9% from recent levels.

With demand all but assured, investors will be paying attention to how fast Boeing and Airbus can build jets. Boeing is expected to raise production from below 600 in 2025 to more than 750 by 2027. Airbus is expected to increase its output from about 800 jets this year to almost 1,000 by 2027.

Safely raising production at both companies would go a long way to allowing both stocks to hit Wall Street’s price targets in the coming years.

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