Boeing could be on track to make good on past growth hopes as the company emerges stronger after heightened scrutiny, according to Bernstein. Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned upgraded the airplane design and manufacturing stock to outperform from market perform and upped his price target to $218 per share from $181 in a Sunday note. The forecast implies about 23% upside from Friday's $177.95 close. Shares rose 1.7% in premarket trading Monday. "Boeing is now making the progress it needed for the growth trajectory we expected before the Alaska door plug accident in January 2024," Harned said. While the analyst cautioned that Boeing remains far from being out of the woods from continued scrutiny over several of its controversies in recent years, he noted that the company is on track to emerge as a stronger firm overall. BA YTD mountain Bernstein stock in 2025. "While we cannot assume all risks are gone, after high FAA scrutiny, [Boeing] should be on a much firmer path than in 2023," Harned said. Boeing is recovering from the 2024 Alaska Airlines controversy, where the door of a 737 Max 9 airplane blew off midflight . That followed two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes that were just five months apart in 2018 and early 2019. But once Boeing finds its footing and is able to navigate consistently both scrutiny and headwinds tied to supply chains, the stock could have a strong growth runway ahead, Harned said. "Boeing has historically been a stock that has traded on momentum. Once the trajectory solidifies, the stock can take off. If you wait, you can miss it," the analyst said. "This is what happened during 2023, when share prices doubled from 2022 levels to reach $260 at the end of 2023, just before the door plug accident." Boeing stock has ticked up about 0.5% in 2025.
