Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $34.00. The stock had previously closed at $32.87, but opened at $34.20. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Spirit AeroSystems shares last traded at $34.29, with a volume of 3,619,681 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SPR. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Spirit AeroSystems in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Spirit AeroSystems from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Spirit AeroSystems from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Spirit AeroSystems from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Spirit AeroSystems from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spirit AeroSystems has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPR. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Spirit AeroSystems by 1,274.6% in the 1st quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 4,714,874 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $170,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,371,874 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Spirit AeroSystems in the 4th quarter valued at $62,432,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Spirit AeroSystems by 495.4% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,737,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $55,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445,994 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Spirit AeroSystems by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,844,853 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $344,649,000 after buying an additional 876,673 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Spirit AeroSystems by 9,458.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 800,152 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $12,914,000 after purchasing an additional 791,781 shares during the period. 93.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spirit AeroSystems Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.90 and a beta of 1.84.

Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported ($3.93) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by ($3.49). The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.69) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. will post -2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Spirit AeroSystems

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc engages in the design, engineering, manufacture, and marketing of commercial aerostructures worldwide. It operates through three segments: Commercial, Defense & Space, and Aftermarket. The Commercial segment offers forward, mid, and rear fuselage sections and systems, floor beams, nacelles, struts/pylons, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, flaps and slats flight control surfaces, wing structures, and wing systems.