Boeing is actually a buy right now, Jim Cramer says

It’s hard to pick a company with more woes these days than Boeing (Boeing Stock Quote, Chart, News NYSE:BA), what with the 737 Max crisis still simmering and COVID-19 continuing to keep planes and passengers grounded and passengers. But, hold on, there are brighter days ahead on both fronts, says CNBC’s Jim Cramer, who likes the stock right now.

“Yes, I think you can buy it,” said Cramer, host of CNBC’s the Lightning Round, on Friday. “I know that [American Airlines] just got some money from the government and that finally the airlines are waking up to being able to test people before they go on.”

“I don’t know why they weren’t doing that before. I know that masks work on planes and I know that we’re going to start opening up Europe,” Cramer said.

Boeing’s share price started the new trading week on a positive note as investors reacted to news that European regulators expect to give their go-ahead by November for the company’s 737 Max jets to fly again.

The EU’s Aviation Safety Agency has said there’s “an end in sight” to its work on signing off on the safety of the plane, currently under a technical ban in Europe. Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Administration has said it’s ready to start flight evaluations of the 737 Max this week, an important step in getting the planes back in the air now a year and a half after a second jet crashed in March 2019 and caused the planes to be grounded worldwide.

Earlier this month, a US Congressional committee delivered a damning report on the crashes, calling out the FAA for failures and deficiencies in its oversight process and Boeing for continuing to fly the 737 Max despite its awareness of crucial design flaws.

On the other front, COVID-19 has been harsh on airlines as well as plane-makers like Boeing, which earlier this year cut its workforce by 19,000 jobs and is now selling real estate assets to cut costs amid the downturn.

Boeing reported a $2.4-billion quarterly loss in its second quarter, delivered in July, which translated to a loss of $4.79 per share. Revenue came in at $11.8 billion, down 25 per cent from a year earlier.

“We remained focused on the health of our employees and communities while proactively taking action to navigate the unprecedented commercial market impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said President and CEO Dave Calhoun in a press release.

“We’re working closely with our customers, suppliers and global partners to manage the challenges to our industry, bridge to recovery and rebuild to be stronger on the other side.”

Over the past year, Boeing has seen airlines cancel or defer their orders for its planes, with the company reporting 323 plane cancellations over the first six months of 2020. Boeing’s share price sank with the general market back in February and March and, like the rest of the aviation industry, has failed to recover.

Year-to-date, BA’s share price is down 49 per cent.