Lack of orders causes Boeing stock to dip

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, June 21, 2001

By Bryan Corliss

Herald Writer

The Boeing Co.’s stock price fell more than $3 a share on Thursday, continuing a weeklong slide triggered by a disappointing performance at the Paris Air Show, analysts said.

Shares closed the day at $57.75 on Thursday, a drop of $3.36 from Wednesday’s closing price on the New York Stock Exchange, and the second $3-plus dollar drop of the week. Prices had plunged $3.08 a share on Monday.

There are two reasons for the drop, analysts said: Boeing announced the sale of only three planes at this week’s Paris Air Show, while rival Airbus Industrie announced deals to sell 155. And this happened as several major U.S. airlines announced they were anticipating major losses, due to a slow-down in corporate travel.

Several analysts have downgraded Boeing stock in recent weeks. But on Thursday, Seattle-based analyst Bob Toomey of Dain Rauscher Wessels maintained his strong buy rating on the company.

"We had no great expectations for Boeing’s orders at this year’s Paris Air Show because of the softer economy," he wrote. "We believe it is too early to make a sweeping judgement … based on one week."