Tossing One to the Alligators

With bad press as far as the eye can see, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced that he will step down at the end of this calendar year as part of a broad management shakeup for the firm. The old timers used to refer to this as "tossing one to the alligators," meaning the sheer amount of awful publicity means someone (or some people) need to be the public "fall guys" as a means of appeasing shareholders and displaying a serious attempt to turn the ship around. 

Even before the latest barrage of negative headlines, however, Boeing was a consistent short idea we have noted with Members due to BA's overall shaky chart structure. Sure, the stock did well for much of 2023. But the longer-term chart remained suspect. 

And now we have the stock remaining in a clear downtrend, as seen on the updated daily chart, below. Even with CEO news today, the stock's relief rally has been particularly pedestrian, with $200 not even in shot at the open. 

Going forward, I expect BA to remain under pressure with bounces likely short setups more than anything else. On all timeframes, the chart is bearish to my eye. And a mere CEO change nine months from now is not likely the silver bullet needed to turn this mess around. 

Elsewhere, we have some end of month/quarter window dressing likely taking place before the long Easter weekend. It is likely fund managers need to show clients that chips are heavily long on their books--Hence the earlier rally in chips. As I write this, though, that mark-up may already be ending. Lord knows it has been dragging on for quarters on end by now.