United Air shares close little changed on Friday, 737 MAX flights cancelled until March 4th, air carrier says

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL), similar to its US peers, announced on Friday that cancellations of Boeing 737 MAX flights would be extended until March 4th, almost 1 year after regulators globally issued a safety ban on the jet.

United Air shares closed lower for the fourth time in the past ten trading sessions on NASDAQ on Friday. The stock inched down 0.01% ($0.01) to $92.51, after touching an intraday high at $93.45, or a price level not seen since November 12th ($93.88).

Shares of United Airlines Holdings Inc have risen 10.49% so far in 2019 compared with a 24.48% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, United Air’s stock went up 24.23%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

The air carrier had previously taken the 737 MAX off its flight schedule until January 6th. The new timeline, still subject to change depending on when the FAA approval arrives, will result in over 8 500 flight cancellations between November and the first several days of March.

“We are continuing to work through the schedule to try and swap and upgauge aircraft to mitigate the disruption caused by the grounding of the MAX,” United Air said in a statement, cited by Reuters.

Last week Boeing said that the US Federal Aviation Administration might approve updates to MAX software in December and fixes to new pilot training a month later.

Major air carriers had said that at least a period of one month after the FAA approval would be required in order to complete pilot training and install revised software before the MAX jets can return to service.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 18 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding United Air’s stock price, have a median target of $107.50, with a high estimate of $140.00 and a low estimate of $95.00. The median estimate represents a 16.20% upside compared to the closing price of $92.51 on November 15th.

The same media also reported that at least 13 out of 21 surveyed investment analysts had rated United Air’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”.