Boeing Stock Rises After Upgrade. Why It Remains a Wall Street Favorite.

Some 81% of analysts covering Boeing shares rate them Buy. (AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

• Boeing stock increased by 0.6% to $202.15 after Freedom Capital upgraded shares to Buy from Hold, with a $223 price target.
• Third-quarter results showed a “cautious recovery” with improved operations and positive free cash flow, despite weaker-than-expected numbers.
• Eighty-one percent of analysts rate Boeing stock as Buy, significantly higher than the S&P 500 average of 55%.

Boeing stock rose early Monday after catching a Wall Street upgrade.

Shares of the commercial airplane maker were up 0.6% at $202.15 in early trading, while the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat.

The move came after Freedom Capital analyst David Silver upgraded shares to Buy from Hold. His price target went to $223 from $217. Boeing’s third-quarter results represented a “cautious recovery” with improving operational performance, according to summaries of his call available on ratings aggregation sites. Freedom Capital didn’t immediately respond to a request for Silver’s full report.

Boeing reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter numbers this past week, but results were weighed down by more charges related to the long-delayed 777x program. There were positive signs. Commercial aircraft sales grew, and free cash flow was positive for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2023.

Still, Boeing shares were about $223 before the quarterly report. Investor expectations look to have been too high. Coming into earnings, Boeing stock was up 26% so far in 2025, despite investors expecting another year of losses. Boeing hasn’t produced a full-year profit since 2018.

Despite the post-earnings drop, Wall Street still likes Boeing stock—81% of analysts covering the shares rate them Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 55%.

The average analyst price target for Boeing shares is about $255, down about $3 since Boeing reported third-quarter numbers.

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