Boeing (NYSE:BA) stock is down by about 7% as of this writing following the malfunction of a 737 Max 9 aircraft operated by Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK).
On Friday night, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 departed from Portland, Oregon. However, the flight was cut short after a part of the plane’s side fuselage became detached, resulting in an open hole in the plane, decompression and an emergency landing.
On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a temporary grounding order for more than 170 Max 9 aircrafts. Alaska Air operates 65 of these planes, all of which will be grounded for the time being. United Airlines (NYSE:UAL) has followed suit by announcing that it has also grounded its fleet of 79 Max 9s.
“We agree with and fully support the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane,” said Boeing. “In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB’s investigation into last night’s event.”
In the meantime, Alaska Air has been in close communication with Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board to complete an inspection on its Max 9 fleet. The inspection is expected to be completed in the upcoming days.
This incident follows two deadly crashes of Boeing Max aircrafts in 2019 and 2020.
5 Investors Betting Big on BA Stock
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large investors provide liquidity and support for stocks. During the third quarter, 2,080 13F filers reported a stake in BA stock, a decline of 3.39%, or 73 filers, from the prior quarter. In total, these filers own 375.43 million shares, up by 1.81% quarter-over-quarter. What’s more, 37 of these filers own BA stock in their top 10 positions. These numbers make it clear that Boeing has strong institutional backing.
Still, even the experts slip up, although the Alaska Air incident was an unforeseen black swan event. With that in mind, let’s take a look at Boeing’s top five shareholders:
- Vanguard: 47.60 million shares. Vanguard acquired 356,496 shares during Q3.
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 36.70 million shares. BlackRock sold 112,742 shares during Q3.
- Newport Trust Company: 33.37 million shares. Newport sold 1.19 million shares during Q3.
- State Street (NYSE:STT): 25.88 million shares. State Street sold 526,981 shares during Q3.
- FMR: 19.52 million shares. FMR sold 159,622 shares during Q3.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
