Bombardier stock hit again by regional jet outlook

Bombardier stock hit again by regional jet outlook

Stock Market Predictions

VANCOUVER (Global Markets) - Shares of Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) fell for a second day on Thursday after the world's No. 3 commercial planemaker raised cash flow concerns and spooked investors with a dismal sales outlook for its regional jets.

Several brokerages cut their price targets for Bombardier stock and at least one analyst downgraded it even though the company's second-quarter earnings and revenue, released on Wednesday, beat market expectations.

Bombardier shares closed 21 Canadian cents, or 4.4 percent, lower at C$4.56 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday in heavy trading after losing 6.8 percent on Wednesday.

Montreal-based Bombardier said on Wednesday it may have to curb production of its CRJ fleet of regional commercial aircraft if orders do not pick up, and its results showed a much higher-than-expected cash burn .

Bombardier's aerospace outlook has become more muted on growing concerns over global slowdown, said Raymond James analyst Steve Hansen, who downgraded the stock to "market perform" from "outperform".

"If the company does not win these CRJ (sales) campaigns, we believe it will reduce production rates, which in turn may impact its 2013 EBIT target of 10 percent," said analyst Walter Spracklin of RBC Capital Markets.

Spracklin, who cut his price target on the stock by a C$1 to C$6, said he does not expect any big orders for Bombardier's new larger-sized jet, the C-Series, any time soon.

"With most of the large U.S. carriers already announcing or postponing their fleet renewal plans into 2012, we believe the probability of a 'mega' order (which we would consider 100-plus firm orders as such) in the coming months as low," he said.

Just as Bombardier is trying to ramp up its regional jet sales in emerging markets, several new products are coming online, including Russia's Superjet, Japan's MRJ, and China's ARJ regional jet, making Bombardier's penetration of these markets more difficult, Spracklin said.

J.P. Morgan Securities, Credit Suisse, Desjardins Securities and Stonecap Securities cut their price targets on the stock as well.

JP Morgan's Joseph Nadol, however, said: "The key earnings driver is a business jet recovery and we see Bombardier as the best play on this end market in our group." Nadol kept his "overweight" rating on the stock.

(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore and Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Peter Galloway)