Boeing stock continues slide with no end to MAX crisis in sight

Carolyn Adolph

May 24, 2019 / 12:55 pm

caption: Boeing said on Sunday that it was aware of problems with a key safety indicator in 2017, but it didn't inform airlines or the FAA until after the Lion Air crash a year later. Here, 737 Max jets built for American Airlines (left) and Air Canada are parked at the airport adjacent to a Boeing production facility in Renton, Wash., in April.

Boeing stock is trading about 20% lower than it was before the 737 MAX crisis.

The stock enters the summer doldrums trading near $350, just a few months after hitting an all-time high.

On March 1, Boeing stock hit $440 for the first time, riding on a voracious world appetite for planes and Boeing’s stock buy-back plan.

Back in 2016, Boeing shares were worth $115 apiece. Around that time, the company launched a series of stock repurchase programs. When a company repurchases its own stock, it magnifies the value of the shares that remain on the market as well as the compensation plans of Boeing executives.

But the crash of a second 737 MAX on March 10 changed all that. The stock slid to $375, then continued to decline. In April, Boeing suspended earnings guidance and the share buybacks.

Bad news has continued to trickle in. On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it is investigating whether Boeing properly disclosed issues related to the plane. And the Federal Aviation Administration has not provided an official timeline for ending the grounding of the MAX.