Boeing‘s stock is worth buying on the pullback from new developments in the 737 Max saga, analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu told CNBC on Friday.
“I like this dip in the stock,” the aerospace and defense analyst at Jefferies said on “Closing Bell.”
The aerospace company saw its stock fall 6.79% on Friday to $344. At those levels, Kahyaoglu said the stock looked “more attractive, to be honest.”
“It’s discounting my free cash flow estimates in 2021 by 25%,” she said.
The pullback followed an announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration that Boeing withheld “concerning” messages from 2016 between employees about a flight-control system implicated in two crashes of the 737 Max.
The news added a fresh layer to the airplane maker’s crisis over its 737 Max jets, which have been grounded worldwide since March.
Two crashes involving the plane model and its malfunctioning flight control system — one in October 2018 and the other in March — killed 346 people in total.
Boeing’s slumping stock contributed to the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 210 points, or 0.8%.
Boeing and the FAA are facing several investigations into the plane’s design and software, and Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg is slated to testify in front of Congress for the first time since the crashes later this month. Last week, the company’s board removed Muilenburg from his chairman role.
Kahyaoglu said she is not sure “what relevance” the text-message disclosure will have to the long-term landscape for Boeing and the 737 Max, the manufacturer’s bestselling plane.
But Kahyaoglu said she believes in the stock because, in her view, Boeing has taken significant enough steps to improve safety in the future.
She pointed to its decision to establish an aerospace safety committee on its board; the creation of an internal organization focused on safety, and the appointment of former General Electric executive David Calhoun as non-executive chairman of the board.
“I do think they’re taking safety measures going forward to change the way they certify aircraft, whether that’s the Max or the 777X,” Kahyaoglu said.
While Boeing has estimated it would receive approval to begin flying the 737 Max again in the fourth quarter, Kahyaoglu said that is looking less likely. She noted Southwest Airlines‘ recent decision to return the plane to its fleet in February at the earliest.
“The Max being certified by end of the year is becoming more and more of a stretch and entering into service more likely in Q1,” she said.
— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs and Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.
