Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) stock rallied today even as the company’s level of fault in the two 737 Max 8 crashes remains murky. A preliminary report Thursday indicated that the crew of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed last month followed all safety procedures, USA Today reported. CEO Dennis Muilenburg posted a video apology on Twitter an hour before the close.
Shares grew 2.9% to $395.86.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) rallied after Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris upgraded the company to Buy from Hold and raised his price target to $200 from $175, MarketWatch reported. That’s a 15% premium over Wednesday’s close. The social media titan also launched a version of WhatsApp Business for Apple Inc (NYSE:AAPL) devices on Thursday, more than a year after an Android version debuted, per Reuters.
Investors liked what they heard, sending shares up 1.4% to close at $176.02.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock plunged after the electric carmaker announced that it delivered 63,000 vehicles in the first quarter. That total included 51,000 of its Model 3, falling short of the Refinitiv consensus of 58,900, according to TheStreet. Deliveries in Europe and China were way up, the company said, which slowed things down and shifted some deliveries into the second quarter. Meanwhile, Tesla’s lawyers are heading to court Thursday to argue that embattled CEO Elon Musk did not violate his fraud settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission by tweeting about the company without approval from the council, according to Reuters.
The share price was stuck in reverse, dropping 8.2% to $267.78.
Office Depot Inc (NASDAQ:ODP) stock spiraled Thursday on preliminary first-quarter results that disappointed investors. The office supplies retailer posted $2.76 billion in revenue and adjusted operating income of $61 million. That’s well below analysts’ average expectation of $2.82 billion. The company’s CompuCom division is expected to report a loss of $15 million. The Florida-based company will report definitive numbers and updated guidance on May 8.
The stock was shelved, falling more than 23% to end the day at $2.88.
JD.com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) dropped after the China e-commerce company announced in that Chief Public Affairs Officer Ye Lan will resign May 31, via a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Lan has held the position since August 2015, and no replacement has been named. The company also unveiled its new blockchain framework, JD Chain.
Investors were wary of the change, and the stock closed 0.2% lower at $30.25.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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